Brown's troubles mount up 1 Edition

• Published in: Scotsman (Edinburgh, Scotland : Daily)
• Main Author: Pattullo, Alan
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Edinburgh (UK) Scotsman Publications 30.03.1999
• ISSN: 0307-5850

THE loss of the Bosnia-Herzegovina match because of the Balkans conflict had Craig Brown, the Scotland manager, expressing the hope last week that one or two of the players in his already-depleted squad would benefit from an unexpected, but well-earned, rest before they face the Czech Republic tomorrow. [Jonathan] Gould was certain to be first choice replacement to Neil Sullivan, but Robert Douglas, of Dundee, and Alan Main, of St Johnstone, have now been placed on standby for bench duty, justifying Brown's decision to include four goalkeepers in his original squad. Neither player has been capped, and a debut against the Czechs in tomorrow's important Euro 2000 qualifier - the visitors lead the group by five points, with only one country guaranteed to qualify for the finals - is not the way Brown would normally choose to blood a newcomer. After pulling a muscle in his back at training, [Matt] Elliott was spotted hobbling towards the team photo call in the grounds of the Scotland hotel. Elliot told Brown the injury was "a lot better" than it had been earlier, but the coach is wary of deploying a player in so important an area when not 100 per cent fit. This is especially pertinent in light of Brown's belief that Czech coach Jozef Chovanec will pick the mobile attacking pairing of Pavel Kuka and Vladimir Smicer.