Hutchison will be big loss, says Dailly
Christian Dailly insists the loss of Don Hutchison will be a massive blow for Scotland this weekend – because he is the player Germany fear the most.
Hutchison has been sent to London to have an x-ray performed on an ankle injury and manager Berti Vogts does not know if he will be able to take part in Saturday’s Euro 2004 qualifier.
It was Hutchison who grabbed the only goal of the game the last time the two nations met to ensure a famous victory for Scotland in Bremen in 1999.
Dailly reckons that goal will be enough to make Rudi Voller’s men wary of his fellow West Ham team-mate four years down the line and that his absence at Hampden Park this weekend would be a big loss for the Scots.
He said: “Germany know him quite well because of that game and he’s a well-known player in England.
“I think they would be a little bit wary of him so he would be great to have around.
“It would be a blow if he didn’t play but if Don can’t play someone else will come in and do a good job.”
Dailly claims anything less than a win on Saturday would be a disappointment for Scotland – even though recent results mean critics are predicting Vogts’ men could suffer a heavy defeat.
The latest disappointment came last week when the Scots were held to a 1-1 draw by New Zealand in a friendly at Tynecastle.
That follows on from recent defeats at the hands of Austria, the Republic of Ireland and Portugal, as well as Lithuania in their last qualifier.
But Dailly insists Vogts should be applauded by the Tartan Army for having the courage to introduce young players into the squad – even if that means poor results on the way to longer-term success.
Dailly added: “I do feel we’re making progress in a lot of ways. In terms of the results in friendlies then maybe not so much so but that’s because we have experimented all the time.
“Everyone wants us to find new, young players so you have to experiment, there’s no other way.
“But, when we do that and we don’t win the game, everyone kicks up a stink but sometimes you have to take that brave step like the manager has done.
“You wouldn’t have players like Andy Webster, Lee Wilkie and James McFadden in the squad now and with a good chance of playing in a game like this if we hadn’t taken the gamble and given them a chance.
“There are so many younger players who could be in the Scotland side for the next 10 years and, in five or six years’ time, the Scotland squad could be really good.”
