Scotland host Serbia, Macedonia in 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign
Scotland aim to get campaign off to flying start with Serbia, Macedonia visiting Hampden Park
Scotland manager Craig Levein admits he is desperate for his side to get their World Cup qualifying campaign off to a flying start against Serbia today.
The Scots start on the road to Brazil 2014 with a home game against Sinisa Mihajlovic's Serbia before hosting Macedonia on Tuesday, and Levein would love to lay down a marker in group A by claiming maximum points from the two games. He knows Scotland are facing a hard task as they aim to qualify for their first major tournament since the World Cup in 1998, but he believes his squad has the quality to mount a serious challenge.
"Serbia are a good team. They came out of Pot Two at the World Cup draw, above Belgium, so they're a decent side," he said. "They're going through a bit of a transitional phase … bringing in younger players. But they always produce quality players.
"We'll be doing everything in our power to beat Serbia and Macedonia, and I'm comfortable with the quality of player we have, Levein said. "But I also know we're playing, particularly in the first game, very hard teams."
His hopes of a positive opening to the campaign suffered a significant blow when full-backs Steven Whittaker and Phil Bardsley were ruled out, and then Danny Fox, Russell Martin and Charlie Mulgrew all withdrew through injury this week. But Levein remains upbeat and says he is delighted with the number of options he has in attack.
"We're quite lucky, because for a while it looked as if we would struggle in the forward areas," he said. "Kenny Miller has always been excellent for Scotland - he has great international experience and it's brilliant to have him on board. But Jordan Rhodes has now appeared on the scene and got a big move to Blackburn. We've also got Ross McCormack banging in goals and Jamie Mackie is playing regularly in the Premier League.