Burley keeping faith with under-fire duo.

Byline: Lisa Gray

SCOTLAND manager George Burley insists Gary Caldwell and Stephen Mc-Manus remain his first-choice defensive pairing - even if Celtic boss Tony Mowbray has yet to be convinced. McManus was singled out for criticism after his blunder gifted Rapid Vienna a draw at Parkhead, as the Hoops were held in a vital Europa League tie last week.

Mowbray then shuffled his pack again for the Old Firm derby, with Caldwell dropped to the bench, before admitting after the 2-1 defeat to Rangers he had yet to decide his best partnership. Burley apparently has no such concerns and had nothing but praise for the Scotland duo ahead of this week's friendly in Japan. "Gary and Stephen have been outstanding for me," he said. "From day one, they have been my pairing. Like anything, you have your ups and downs but I've got every confidence in both of them.

"They are both very strong characters, very competitive and they are the type of players who are leaders on and off the pitch so I've got no hesitation in selecting those two.

"We have other players, like Christophe Berra and Darren Barr, who are waiting in the wings as well. So we are well sorted out for centre-backs."

Burley's own future was thrown into doubt after failing to secure a World Cup play-off spot, before being informed by the Scottish Football Association he would remain in the job for now. Debate continues to rage as to whether he is the right man to lead Scotland into the next qualifying campaign and Burley was asked whether he expects to be under further scrutiny in Yokohama. "I don't know about being judged more," he said.

"You are judged all the time. You are judged in every game. This is a game where we will be looking at some new players, a game we will be trying to win.

"Nothing changes. You want to do well in every game. You want to win every game and you want to improve. There is not any difference whatsoever. "We are trying to build a squad for the Euros next September. The most important thing for the fans and the country is that they can see we are going in the right direction."

Burley admits the doomed World Cup campaign was a learning curve and believes he will be better equipped for the games ahead as a result.

"You never stop learning," he said. "Being national coach is new to me after being at clubs. It's something I'm relishing. I feel we are getting stronger. "You have hiccups, such as missing a number of players, but that gives others an opportunity."

Burley has now suffered seven calloffs this time around, with Scott Brown, Shaun Maloney, Danny Fox, Kevin Thomson, Steven Naismith, Robert Snodgrass and Garry O'Connor having all withdrawn from the squad. Former Ayr winger Craig Conway was added to the party yesterday to replace Brown, hours after his Dundee United teammate Scott Robertson was also called up. Lee Miller and Lee Wallace have also been drafted into the pool.

Despite the changes Burley believes the gruelling trip to Japan remains a worthwhile exercise and insists a fixture closer to home simply was not an option.

He said: "The problem was that virtually all the European teams are playing because they have six teams in their groups - so who do you play? "Going to a different continent is a great experience for the players who haven't been there."

CAPTION(S):

SCRUTINY Scotland manager George Burley yesterday.