SCOTT Brown believes Scotland's players will be tough enough to cope if Macedonia try to rough them up in tonight's penultimate World Cup qualifier in Skopje.
Macedonia had five players booked when they beat Wales on Friday and among a series of ugly flashpoints their captain, the Napoli striker Goran Pandev, was in a heated exchange with Aaron Ramsey. The Scotland management and players have watched a DVD of that game and insist they can handle it if their coach Cedomir Janevski sets his team out to try to bully them.
Macedonia have had 23 bookings in their seven Group A games so far. Scotland have had 10 yellow cards, and one red, in eight games.
"Macedonia might come out and try to kick us off the park, they did that against the Welsh lads," said the captain. "We are going to see if we get the ball down and play first and foremost. If that doesn't work then we'll see what we can do."
Brown's Celtic team-mates, Joe Ledley and Adam Matthews, were eye witnesses to Macedonia's aggressive play on Friday. Brown, Charlie Mulgrew and James Forrest should all feature tonight, only eight days before Celtic begin their Champions League group campaign against AC Milan in the San Siro.
But Brown was undaunted by what could be in store in the Philip II Arena tonight. "I don't see why we can't handle it. Our back four are huge and we've got Charlie, who is six-foot plus, playing in the middle of the park. So we do have a few physical guys.
"We need to learn we are not here to make friends. We have to be nasty. If it comes to it, you've got to dive in and make a challenge. If you have to take a booking for the team, it's worth it if it stops a counter-attack or whatever. I've heard a few bits and bobs about the Wales game here on Friday. A few of the lads have said Macedonia were quite physical. We'll need to be physical too."
Scotland will finish bottom of Group A if they lose tonight and Wales beat Serbia in Cardiff. What has been a dreadful campaign ends at home to Croatia on October 15. A win tonight would maintain the fragile sense of progress generated by the past three games against Croatia, England and Belgium, albeit the latter two having ended in defeat.
"We feel we have made a lot of progress but now we need to start winning games," Brown went on. "At club level, I've managed to go abroad with Celtic and get wins. It is time to do it with Scotland as well."
The Skopje pitch is a difficult playing surface and Brown remembered it being the same five years ago. He is the only Scotland player who started in that 1-0 World Cup qualifying defeat in 2008 and will also start again this evening. "I remember it was really hot here five years ago. The pitch wasn't the best and we got beat 1-0. But it's a different team and a different manager now, so we'll take it from there.
"I think we are a lot more organised than when we played here the last time. The last three games have showed you what we can do against some right good teams. We have competed well, played football and showed fighting spirit as well."
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