Scotland v Brazil: Craig Levein lifts ban on booze ahead of La Manga trip
There were no shocks on Thursday when Scotland manager Craig Levein named his squad to take on Brazil at the Emirates Stadium on March 27.
Flashback: Barry Ferguson sticks two fingers to the cameras after Scotland?s Boozegate scandal two years ago Photo: PA
By Ewing Grahame 10:30PM GMT 17 Mar 2011
However, the strict ban on alcohol which has been in place at these gatherings since he replaced George Burley in December 2009 will be lifted when the players travel to their sports complex in La Manga on Monday.
The group will be given free time for team bonding sessions, which will include being allowed to drink, at the start of their five-day stay in Spain.
Levein introduced the teetotal training regime as a way of distancing his stewardship of the national team from the Boozegate scandal which followed a defeat by Holland two years ago and led to the end of then Scotland captain Barry Ferguson’s representative career.
“I plan to give them a couple of days off,” said Levein. “But they are representing Scotland and they will behave accordingly.
“What I’m saying is, I want to give them the chance to spend some time together and I won’t be sitting peering over their shoulders. But they will have a couple of days of relaxation when we get there and I think that makes sense.
“I’d expect, with any team I’m involved in, that the players understand their responsibilities as professional football players.
I don’t want to go down the road of getting involved in anything that has happened previously.
“I think it’s something that will allow team spirit to develop. The two things that are difficult to instil in football players are team spirit and confidence, particularly at international level where you don’t get enough time to pull everyone together and work with them.
“So I see next week as a great opportunity for them to get to know each other. The dynamic of the team is really important so the more often I can get them all together the better it is for me and for the team’s chances of improving.”
Oddly, Levein pinpoints the night of the infamous 4-6-0 formation and the capitulation to the Czech in Prague five months ago as the time when he realised that he was finally getting through to his charges.
“It’s only really been over the last couple of matches, probably going back to the game against the Czechs, that I feel there has been an indication that we had a group of players who were dead set on doing what I was wanting them to do,” he said.
“They were also dead set on proving to everybody that playing for Scotland means an awful lot to them.”
Levein insisted that Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Steven Fletcher, who informed the management team by text message before last month’s 3-0 victory over Northern Ireland that he no longer wished to be considered for selection, still has a future should he make himself available.
“I didn’t make any decisions about Steven: he made the decision,” he said. “He is a different issue all together but the door is not closed.
“But I want to reward the people I feel are part of the team ethic, who will work to help other players and set an example.
“It’s the values that are important – what we all stand for and what playing for Scotland is all about.”
Levein also revealed that he has not yet abandoned hope that Wigan Athletic midfielder James McCarthy will reverse his decision to represent the Republic of Ireland and commit his international future to the land of his birth.
Should the 20-year-old make his competitive debut for Giovanni Trappatoni’s team against Macedonia on March 26 then Scotland will no longer be an option for him.
“It’s been an ongoing process for a long, long time but let’s wait and see what happens,” said Levein.
“If he plays in that game then it’s over and we won’t need to discuss it any more. If he doesn’t then we will talk about it.”
Scotland (v Brazil, Emirates, March 27): A McGregor (Rangers), C Gordon (Sunderland), I Turner (Everton); P Bardsley (Sunderland), C Berra (Wolves), G Caldwell (Wigan), S Crainey (Blackpool), G Hanley (Blackburn), A Hutton (Tottenham), S Whittaker (Rangers), D Wilson (Liverpool), M Wilson (Celtic); C Adam (Blackpool), B Bannan (Aston Villa), S Brown (Celtic), K Commons (Celtic), D Cowie (Watford), M Davidson (St Johnstone), J McArthur (Wigan), J Morrison (West Brom), R Snodgrass (Leeds); C Maguire (Aberdeen), K Miller (Bursaspor), S Naismith (Rangers).
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