GORDON Strachan has warned his aspiring young Scotland hopefuls that it will be difficult to supplant his fantastic five.

There has been a clamour to recognise the storming start to Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Steven's Celtic career with a call-up for the double header with Northern Ireland and Gibraltar at the end of the month, while the likes of Ryan Gauld at Sporting Lisbon, and Ryan Jack of Aberdeen, also continue to make good progress. Scott Arfield at Burnley is holding down a role in a Barclays Premier League midfield while Alex Mowatt, a 20-year-old Leeds midfielder who gained England youth honours but qualifies for Scotland on his father's side, was watched by assistant boss Mark McGhee against Brighton recently.

While all of the above apart from Arfield and Mowatt have already been granted their first taste of life in the international fold, the Scotland boss last night re-affirmed his commitment to the players who have taken us thus far. Skipper Scott Brown rarely has a poor game for Scotland, his Celtic colleague Charlie Mulgrew is returning to full fitness, Darren Fletcher is cherishing regular first team football again following his move to join James Morrison at West Brom, while James McArthur continues to look the part in the Barclays Premier League with Crystal Palace. If anything, Strachan plans to cut the supporting cast in his squad to prevent demoralising those fringe players who travel with the squad but are unable to get stripped.

"We've had people in the system from Aberdeen, Dundee United and all over the place," said Strachan. "Some we've retained and some we haven't for different reasons.

"They [Armstrong and Mackay-Steven] have played three or four games," he added. "You wait for a while but you have to remember that in September both of them were left out of the Dundee United first team. So just because they've pitched up at Celtic doesn't make them superstars. But it's great to see over the last few weeks that they're playing in front of 60,000 people against teams like Inter Milan.

"To be fair, if you're a central midfield player it's very hard. Charlie Mulgrew was magnificent against the Republic of Ireland. Scott Brown's always great. James McArthur's starring for Crystal Palace. Darren Fletcher's been terrific, plus James Morrison. Those five have been first class over the last two years so you have to be better than them. That's the standard you have to come up to."

The meeting with Northern Ireland on March 26 finds both nations in similar circumstances; as bullish about their chances of qualifying for a major finals as they have been for a decade or two, yet keen to ensure that no injuries are accrued ahead of bigger matches three days later. While Scotland are hosting Gibraltar on Sunday March 29, Northern Ireland will be desperate to maintain the impressive start to their campaign when they welcome Finland to Belfast.

Strachan, who signed Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill during their past life in Coventry, will discuss the strength of their respective line-ups before kick off. "I get on great with Michael - I signed him!" said Strachan. "And we've kept in touch for a long time. They're one of the most improved international sides in the world. They've shot up the rankings and I'm delighted for him. He's a smashing guy and great to work with. We're both warming up for big games and I've spoken to him about that. We'll announce our squads on the same day and we'll decide what kind of teams to put out. It will be balanced."

Strachan was speaking at the unveiling of Brian McClair, his one-time Manchester United and Scotland team-mate, as SFA performance director, after a decade heading up the Old Trafford side's youth academy. McClair, who officially takes up his post in June, will spend his first months evaluating every asset of the Scottish game.

Young players with dual English and Scottish nationality will simply be asked if they feel Scottish and want to play for the country, while for all the imperative to micro-manage Scottish youth development, McClair also sees a virtue in paring back the amount of instructions which coaches give out. "Yes, because we are looking for problem solvers," McClair said. "I defy anybody to be out there when the stadium is full and hear what the coach is saying on the sidelines; whether they are listening or not. The earlier they can start solving their own problems, individually and collectively, the better chance they have of being a footballl player."