Scots lose skipper Lambert
Wednesday, November 5, 2003
Article summary
Scotland captain Paul Lambert has ruled himself out of the UEFA EURO 2004™ play-offs against the Netherlands.
Article body
No chance
Lambert had hoped to be back in time to face the Dutch on 15 November at Hampden Park and four days later in the Amsterdam ArenA. However, the Celtic FC midfield player has encountered numerous setbacks in his fight for fitness and now admits he has no chance of returning for club or country in the next month.
Out of retirement
Lambert has been a key man for coach Berti Vogts - the German having persuaded him to come out of international retirement to lead the team in the chase for a place in Portugal. "Everyone knows I didn't come back for Scotland to win a few extra caps, I did it to help the manager and allow the younger lads to develop," he said.
In the balance
The 34-year-old has also made it clear that once Scotland's involvement in EURO 2004™ is over, so too will be his international career. "It will be very tough to beat Holland over two matches, but you never know," he added.
