Scotland's stand-in captain happy to steer the ship until his skipper's return

Sports writer

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Gary Caldwell will captain Scotland in tonight's friendly against Australia, but he is content for the appointment to be temporary.

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Richard Wilson

He is even prepared to relinquish the opportunity to lead out his country when he earns his 50th cap, which will probably be in the first World Cup qualifying matches next month. That honour has become established for those who play in 50 games for the national team, but Caldwell would take greater satisfaction from walking out behind Darren Fletcher.

The midfielder has been training with the squad in Edinburgh this week, and was due to play at least 45 minutes for Manchester United against Aberdeen in last night's testimonial match for Neil Simpson at Pittodrie, and his presence around the Scotland set-up has been invigorating. Fletcher is a widely admired individual, as well as valued for his football ability, and Caldwell would welcome his full return to the team.The recovery from ulcerative colitis will still take time, but Fletcher continues to be an inspirational figure. His mood is unaffected by the trials of the past four years, when he has been attempting to manage what is a serious bowel condition. Caldwell could be flippant in remarking that he was able to be photographed with Amy Macdonald, the singer, while Fletcher was being driven to Aberdeen yesterday, but there was nothing glib about his appreciation for the United player."He's a huge part of what we're trying to do and, hopefully, we have him back playing very soon," Caldwell said. "But it's obviously something he wants to take very slowly. I don't think his commitment for Scotland could ever be questioned. That's what makes him a great captain – he always turns up, always shows how much it means to him. He plays for a huge club yet he shows, every time he comes here, what it means to play for Scotland. That's great for the young boys to see, especially."He looked fine to me, back to his usual energetic self, shutting people down [in training]. But he's speaking to a lot of medical people who will take it slowly, make sure he's right when he come backs. It is really encouraging that he's training with Manchester United and now with us. He never knows when it could happen again. I don't know if the qualifiers are too soon for him. All we can say is that we all hope he is available, because he's a huge player for us."Caldwell expects Australia to line-up in a 4-4-1-1 formation. The challenge will be to break through their well-organised team and deliver an expression of Scotland's intent. Losing 5-1 to America at the end of last season was a chastening experience, and even though it is the performance tonight that is more critical, the result will affect the team's confidence ahead of the opening two qualifying games, against Serbia and Macedonia next month, both at Hampden."We have to win the first two games," Caldwell said. "People might say that's silly, but realistically we've to get off to a fast start, give ourselves confidence and build from that. It's similar to past groups in that there are a few teams who fancy topping the group. In qualifying for Euro 2008 we had France, Italy and Ukraine and they all fancied it. We had a good start and we too fancied giving it a go for the top two spots. We've got a chance – more than in previous campaigns when we had Spain or Holland in the section. This time we have a realistic chance."The national team does not play in isolation, even if the only direct effect of Rangers being in the third division has been a row over Ian Black's call up, and Lee Wallace being dropped from the squad. Scottish football needs a change in mood, and the fortunes of Craig Levein's side will either counteract, or intensify, the sense of anxiety."It's been a very traumatic time for Scottish football over the past six months," Caldwell said. "But it's happened, it's over with and Scottish football has to try and rebuild and become a force again."That process continues this evening, with Caldwell at the forefront, and Fletcher in support.

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Scotland's stand-in captain happy to steer the ship until his skipper's return

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