FOOTBALL being football Stephen McManus can’t say for sure that history won’t repeat itself when Scotland return to the Boris Paichadze Stadium in Tbilisi tomorrow for the first time since the 2-0 defeat in October 2007 which proved so wounding to our hopes of qualification for Euro 2008. But given the confidence he sees building in the squad under his old manager Gordon Strachan, he sees no reason why it should. The meeting with the Georgians has assumed epic proportions for the Tartan Army and McManus, a veteran of that night in Tbilisi, is confident Scotland will get the victory they crave.
“You can’t say that this current group won’t do the same again because anything can happen,” said McManus. “We’ve seen the Republic of Ireland in Georgia when it took a last minute goal to win. So you can’t compare and say just because that team let it slip in 2007 so there’s no way this team will do it. But I certainly believe that the way Gordon has structured his team and the players at his disposal are excellent so I really think we’ll get to the finals in the summer. There’s an air of confidence that comes from winning football matches.”
There is a fine line between confidence and over-confidence and just perhaps back in 2007 Scotland were guilty of the latter. Pitted against a Georgian side featuring three teenagers, he recalls that the normal defensive stability displayed by Alex McLeish’s side during that campaign went out the window somewhat.
“There was a different feel to the game,” said McManus. “When you play international football for Scotland, everything is based on being resolute and hard to beat. Whereas that game, I remember Alex McLeish saying to us that they’d a 16-year-old going in goals, a 17-year-old in the middle of the park who was making his debut and that we were going out to win the game.”
McManus was speaking to publicise his friend and clubmate Keith Lasley’s testimonial match on Saturday against Neil Lennon’s Bolton. He feels that the Motherwell midfielder is an underrated player who deserves a big turn-out at Fir Park. “Technically, he’s a miles better footballer than people think because he does the dirty side of the game well,” said McManus. “Motherwell just seems to fit with guys like him. He’s a vital cog to how this football club starts and everything it stands for.”
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