Lambert values win over sentiment

Grown men wept when Paul Lambert left Borussia Dortmund. Returning to the Westfalen Stadium as captain of Scotland tomorrow, he will have no qualms about reducing a German crowd to tears once again.

Lambert, who believes that "one of the greatest Scottish results ever'' is within their compass in the Euro 2004 qualifier, gained a Champions' League winners' medal with Dortmund in 1997.

The Celtic midfielder's role in that triumph - he shadowed Zinedine Zidane into anonymity - assures him of a warmer reception than Berti Vogts on the former Germany coach's return to his homeland as the Scotland manager.

Close to full fitness after missing Saturday's 3-1 win over the Faroe Islands with an ankle injury, the 34-year-old Lambert realises that his "homecoming'' is nevertheless unlikely to be greeted as affectionately as his departure from Dortmund.

"I'd decided to go back to Scotland because my son, Christopher, was ill,'' he said. "At the end of my last game, the crowd sang 'You'll Never Walk Alone' to me, which lives with me almost as much as winning the European Cup. People were crying when I did a lap of honour, which was brilliant considering I was a foreigner.

"Maybe they took to me because of my work ethic. Dortmund is a working-class city and they appreciated the Scottish attitude to graft, even though we had superstars like Andy Moller.'' Lambert owed his unlikely move from Motherwell to an injury sustained by Steffan Freund during Euro 96.

He was, he recalled modestly, "in the right place at the right time''. Once he had a foot in the door, however, he revealed his value both as a man-marker and a player who rarely relinquished possession. Dortmund, in turn, made him "much more professional''. He realised that what he did was "a job, not a hobby''.

"I changed my diet and my attitude to training, which the Germans treat with the same intensity as playing," he said. "Before I went there I liked a round of golf. In 16 months with Dortmund, I never played once. There was no time.

"After I joined Celtic I had a mental hangover. For two months I couldn't kick my backside. I struggled to shake off that feeling because of the send-off I got.

"But we're playing Germany this time, and the crowd will be made up of fans from Schalke, Hamburg and so on. I don't anticipate a particularly fond welcome.''

Lambert felt the latest Group Five results - which also saw Germany scrape a 0-0 draw in Iceland - had given the Scots an "unbelievable chance'' of reaching the finals. Was victory feasible? "Yes. Germany don't frighten teams like they used to and they'll be under pressure if they don't start well.

"But if we concede an early goal they'll get their tails up and the crowd will become really vocal. People are saying Germany are in disarray, but they won't be on Wednesday. We just have to be strong and stand up to them.''

* Germany are likely to be without two Bayern Munich midfielders, Jens Jeremies and Sebastian Deisler, when they meet Scotland. Jeremies, who missed the draw in Iceland with a sore right knee, will have to rest for another week while Deisler pulled up with a right thigh injury in training yesterday. The central defender Carsten Ramelow and the striker Oliver Neuville also missed training on Monday but are expected to be available.