SCOTLAND'S 2010 World Cup campaign is guaranteed to begin in the same fashion as the country's last successful sortie to a major finals. Just as was the case before the team set off on their journey to France 98, in preparation for facing Macedonia on Saturday they will have the wisdom of Craig Brown imparted to them.

Following Bobby Williamson's elevation to Uganda coach, Scotland manager George Burley has added Brown to his scouting staff. The man who led the nation to Euro 96 and France 98 will not be a faceless, report-filing member of that team. After watching the Macedonians' 4-1 win in Luxembourg 10 days ago, Brown will address Burley's squad this week on the merits of the opposition they will face in the heat of Skopje.

"Craig will come to our hotel to go through all the different aspects," Burley said. "He has great football experience, and great knowledge of the international scene. I have always got on really well with Craig. The number of games he has taken charge of the country, and the fact he is the last person to take the country to a World Cup, makes it sensible to utilise his knowledge. It is only going to help and Craig speaking first-hand will allow players to come up afterwards and be able to get a direct answer to how the right winger played, or whatever, from someone who was there on the spot."

Some Burley detractors will no doubt decree his willingness to give a role to a former national coach who stepped down in 2001 following two unsuccessful qualifying campaigns to be a backward step. Sensible might be a more accurate summation.

Burley has found himself the focus of the build-up to a campaign that finds the country seeking to bring to an end a run of qualifying failures in major tournaments that stretches to five – a figure higher than any previous period in Scotland's history. His powers of oratory have come under scrutiny, but the fact remains that Scotland will stand or fall on the quality of their personnel. And, in losing captain Barry Ferguson and Alan Hutton, Burley must operate with a squad he rightly states "isn't inundated with world-class players".

It is more than quarter of a century since Scotland topped a World Cup qualifying group. With Holland for company in a section that comprises Norway, Iceland and Macedonia, there is no reason to suspect that will change over the next 14 months. Furthermore, while Scotland's progress to France 98 came about through them being the best-placed runners-up in a group won by Austria, second place this time would only secure a play-off. Even that is not a given, however, with the poorest performing second-placed team across the nine qualifying groups eliminated.



Burley has earmarked 17 points from his team's eight Group 9 matches and to achieve that, four points from the double-header that will see them play away to Iceland four days after Macedonia would appear imperative. Burley might not rival Barack Obama for public speaking, but when it comes to analysis of the Macedonians, he is astute. By all accounts, this is the Burley who carries dressing rooms.

"It is interesting that nine of the players who played against Luxembourg played against England in 2006," he said. "They are settled, experienced, strong and different. Their 3-4-3 formation isn't what you would usually come up against, but it makes them competitive, as shown with their 2-0 home win over Croatia last year.

"Even when they lost at home 1-0 to England, they were on top in the first half and England weathered a storm. They played the same system with their wide players getting forward and back and making banks of five. They closed down very quickly at the back and had three players who wanted to go and mark people, they didn't drop off, while the wing backs bombed forward.

"The game will not be for the faint hearted. They are physical and have six or seven six-footers and we need to be disciplined. We can't just chase willy-nilly in the heat but have to get our shape quickly and play from there."

What this World Cup means to Burley, and what he will impress on his players it can mean to them, was revealed by a rare nugget of the personal.

"In my football career, I played 400 games for Ipswich, and won the FA Cup and UEFA Cup but what sticks with me is being at the 1982 World Cup finals with Scotland," he said. "I didn't play, but just the atmosphere, the fans, being in Spain and seeing us playing Brazil sticks with me. As I say to the players now, it is not just about the 11 but the whole squad. If they can look back in 20 years at having been in a World Cup finals, the memories will never fade."


WORLD CUP FACTS

HIGH FIVE

Scotland have been drawn in Group 9 with the Netherlands, Macedonia, Norway and Iceland, the only five-team group in the European section of the World Cup qualifiers. The other eight groups all have six teams.

HOW TO QUALIFY

The nine group winners qualify automatically for the World Cup finals in South Africa in 2010. The eight best runners-up will meet in four two-legged play-offs, with the ninth-best runners-up eliminated. The four winners of the play-offs advance to the finals.

AWAY DAYS

Scotland open their campaign with two away games, against Macedonia on Saturday and Iceland four days later. Their first home game is against Norway at Hampden on 11 October.

DUTCH DELAYED

The other match next Saturday sees Norway play host to Iceland. The Dutch, who are short-priced favourites to win the group, begin their qualifying campaign on 10 September with an away match in Macedonia.