McLeish aims to keep feet on ground

Scotland manager Alex McLeish is warning his side not to get carried away by their recent successes as they prepare for a potentially decisive UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying double-header against Ukraine and Georgia.

On a high
The Scots are on a high following their 1-0 defeat of France at the Parc des Princes last month, a result that took them top of Group B, and victories against Ukraine in Glasgow on Saturday and away to Georgia next Wednesday would put them within touching distance of their first finals since the 1988 FIFA World Cup. However, the man who masterminded that win in Paris is cautioning an expectant nation that the hard work is just beginning.

'Three cup finals'
"The win against France was fantastic but we can't afford to be conceited in any shape or form," McLeish told uefa.com. "We have reached this stage by being organised, working hard and taking our chances when they've come along. We've given ourselves a chance of qualifying but that's all it is. We now have what amounts to three cup finals to see if we can take the final step towards next year's finals."

Shevchenko threat
First up are Ukraine and despite his well-publicised travails at Chelsea FC, McLeish is extremely wary of the threat posed by Andriy Shevchenko and his likely strike partner, Andriy Voronin. "Shevchenko is a different player when he's playing for the national side," said McLeish. "He has a freedom he doesn't have at Chelsea which makes him harder to pin down. Shevchenko's record at international level [34 goals in 75 appearances] speaks for itself and we will treat him with the utmost respect. Voronin scored a goal for Liverpool last weekend which will have boosted his confidence ... We know what he's capable of."

'Patient'
With Scotland having risen to 14th in the world rankings, McLeish faces the dual task of harnessing the confidence gained by recent results, while simultaneously dampening anticipation levels in a country which now expects Scotland to beat Ukraine and take another three points from a weakened Georgia in Tbilisi. "We have to remember that Ukraine are ranked above us in this group," McLeish said. "They reached the quarter-finals of last year's World Cup and beat us 2-0 in Kiev last October, so they are a good side and we will need to be patient.

'Resilience and confidence'
"To win the game we will need the same concentration levels we showed in Paris, to be at our best defensively and to be creative enough to score the goal or goals we will require to take three points. While it's true Georgia are without some very important players, we saw them against Ukraine [last month's 1-1 draw in Tbilisi] without [Levan] Kobiashvili and [Shota] Arveladze and they played really well. We will face a cauldron there and are under no illusions about how difficult that game will be. But we have good resilience and confidence in our squad and we will continue to take it game by game."