RUSSELL Martin has insisted he can start alongside Charlie Mulgrew in central defence for the first time tomorrow and help Scotland record a win over the Republic of Ireland in their Euro 2016 qualifier in Dublin.
Gordon Strachan, the national team manager, is being widely tipped to play Mulgrew at the back in the Group D match against Martin O'Neill's side in the Aviva Stadium.
The versatile Celtic player has missed the majority of the 2014/15 campaign due a hamstring tendon injury and only returned to action when he came on as a second half substitute in the Glasgow club's last two SPFL Premiership matches.
But Strachan is believed to be keen to have the 29-year-old, who was outstanding as a sitting midfielder in the 1-0 triumph against the Republic at Celtic Park back in November, involved this weekend.
He played the 17-times capped internationalist for the full 90 minutes in the friendly against Qatar at Easter Road last Friday night to help bring on his fitness and improve his match sharpness.
Martin, the Norwich City centre half, is normally partnered by either Grant Hanley of Blackburn Rovers, who is currently out injured, or Gordon Greer of Brighton in the Scotland side.
However, he is confident he can strike up an immediate understanding with Mulgrew, who he ended up playing next to in the second half of the 3-1 defeat to England last year, in this competitive fixture.
"We've got a few options in the centre of defence," he said. "Charlie has played there before, Gordon played well again against Qatar, Christophe (Berra) is there and I'm hoping to play.
"If Charlie gets the nod in there then I'm sure he'll do the job. He's played there lots of times for Celtic. I think one of his strengths is his versatility. He's comfortable on the ball wherever he plays. Charlie is a big boy and a good athlete so he can slot in anywhere. He played really well against Qatar last week.
"We played briefly together in the friendly against England at Celtic Park where we were up against Wayne Rooney so it doesn't get much tougher. I've played lots of times with him in training so if we were asked to play again it won't be a problem."
Strachan is almost certain to return to the 4-2-3-1 formation he favours in competitive matches in Dublin after abandoning it in the first 45 minutes of the Euro 2016 qualifier against Gibraltar at Hampden in March.
Martin, who helped Norwich win promotion English Premier League in the Championship play-off final at Wembley last month, reckons a familiarity with that system will help the new-look Scotland rearguard to gel.
He said: "When you come away you're playing with good players so it's fairly easy and the way the manager wants to set us up is very clear so regardless of who comes in they know what's expected of them.
"In terms of pairings all over the pitch then the more you play together the better it is, but when you come away and it's really clear what is required then it's easy to slot in. Grant Hanley and myself did well for quite a long period of time, but he's been injured for quite a long period of time.
"Whoever I've played with - Christophe or Gordon - it's always gone pretty well. Our defensive record has been pretty good and it's probably because of the clarity from the manager and his coaching staff."
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