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Key duo get green light
Stephen McManus and Alan Hutton are ready to play in tomorrow’s do-or-die Hampden scrap with Iceland.
Vice-captain McManus has recovered from the ankle injury which saw him miss the Holland game, while Hutton will be preferred to Graham Alexander at right-back after his cameo role in Amsterdam.
Scotland manager George Burley knows his team must tighten up at the back after gifting two cheap goals to the Dutch and also pose more of a threat going forward. A decision on the goalkeeper will also be made over the next 24 hours after Allan McGregor came in for some stick over his reluctance to come off his line during last weekend’s 3-0 loss.
Assistant boss Terry Butcher said: “McManus is desperate to play and we’re optimistic. He has a very good chance and we’ll see what he’s like in training.
“If you want to play for your country you sometimes push yourself more.
“You have to be careful with that but we’re very optimistic.
“Hutton was a huge plus for us coming on against Holland given the number of games he has missed.
“He felt it when he was on because of his inactivity, but it was encouraging to see him back.