ABERDEEN captain Graeme Shinnie is expected to deputise for absent duo Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson at left back against Kazakhstan later today. Scotland boss Alex McLeish said: "He [Shinnie] would be the obvious candidate."

McLeish is hoping that today's game will represent the start of a more successful era for the national side. "I think momentum is the key in international football," said the Scotland boss. "But what we do have coming in are players on very good form for their clubs."

Kazakhstan manager Michal Bilek revealed that he is wary of the threat Scotland will pose in Astana today, particularly in attack. Bilek said: "All the Scottish players are very fast and their attackers are very dangerous."

But The Herald's James Cairney thinks that the opening fixture of the Euro 2020 qualifying campaign might not be quite as easy as Scotland would like to think

Former Kilmarnock manager Mixu Paatelainen, who recently travelled to Kazakhstan as Latvia manager, has warned McLeish not to underestimate the technical ability of the Kazakhs. "They are a very tall team, a very technical team, and very fast," said Paatelainen.

And Paatelainen - who also used to manage Finland - believes Celtic dispensed with Teemu Pukki too quickly and that the Finnish striker is now proving his worth at Norwich. "I am very sure that if he had stayed longer at Celtic, he would have scored goals for them," said Paatelainen.

Carl Worswick, a British journalist based in Colombia's capital Bogota who specialises in Colombian football, has given an in-depth interview charting the rise of Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos. "He is a player that has taken an unconventional route but he has become a massive success and taken everyone by surprise," said Worswick.

And Morelos' team-mate Daniel Candeias reckons referees need to do a better job of protecting the Rangers top scorer from provocation. "People say Alfredo has too many red cards, but in every game the players provoke Alfredo," Candeias said. "The referees can help him in the matches."

Celtic defender Kristoffer Ajer is relishing the opportunity to come up against his team-mate Mikael Lustig when the two players' countries meet in Euro 2020 qualifying next Tuesday. Ajer said: "To play Sweden at home is a special game for the whole country. Hopefully I can beat the Swedish guy in the Celtic squad!"

Another Celtic player, January signing Vakoun Issouf Bayo, has had to pay for his own plane ticket to represent the Ivory Coast Under-23s because of a financial crisis in his homeland.

The European Club Association (ECA) insisted that they have not held a meeting, merely a 'brainstorming session', about the future of the Champions League from 2024 onwards. The ECA met with members of UEFA's Executive Committee in Nyon two days ago.

New Hibernian defender Jonathan Spector has revealed that being called 'useless' by Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United helped spur him on to become the player he is today. Spector said: "The manager pulled me aside after the team talk and he said ‘Spector, you were absolutely useless the other night'."

Hamburg defender David Bates has revealed that the training sessions at the German club regularly get higher attendances than some of the matches he played in back in Scotland. "When I was 17 or 18 there would have been no chance of 2,000 fans at my games," said Bates. "It is crazy when you think about it, 2,000 ultras at training singing their hearts out."

Partick Thistle manager Gary Caldwell reckons that striker Scott McDonald is fitter today than he was when the pair played for Celtic against AC Milan in the Champions League. "I had lunch with Scott McDonald and I knew straight away that he could make a difference at Championship level and he has been sensational," revealed Caldwell.

And in women's football, Scotland boss Shelley Kerr thinks that the competition for places in her squad is the most intense she can recall. "It's all credit to the players and their clubs, they are making it very difficult for me to select," Kerr said.

In rugby, a host of big-name players are set to return to the Glasgow Warriors starting lineup, including talismanic full back Stuart Hogg. Assistant coach Kenny Murray said: "He is full of confidence that he is ready to go in the next 10 days or so."

In athletics news, the chief executive of scottishathletics has called for government support to build a new multi-million-pound indoor athletics facility. Mark Munro said: "I’m not criticising the Emirates because it is a world class events venue but it is not a world class training venue because athletes can’t access it often enough."

And in boxing, Sean Lazzerini has brought a European silver medal home from Russia after losing out to homegrown star Aleksei Semykin in the final. "It was disappointing to lose in the final but obviously I got a good few wins and the Russian guy [Semykin] was really good," admitted Lazzerini.

Elsewhere, the Scottish Sun reckon that Olivier Ntcham and Tom Rogic will be fit in time to face Rangers on March 31st.

Simon Donnelly has told the Daily Record that he believes Celtic's Odsonne Edouard can become a bigger star for the club than Moussa Dembele.

And Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes is mulling over a permanent bid for on-loan striker James Wilson, according to the Press and Journal.