Relax, George, It's Only A Friendly

There is no pressure on Scotland manager George Burley to deliver positive results in the lead up to the next international competitive game. So says SFA chief executive Gordon Smith who insists results are not everything when it comes to Scotland's upcoming friendlies. Burley knows he will be under added scrutiny in his future challenge games as Scotland's next competitive contest is not for another year. Burley had to wait for a while following Scotland's third-place finish in their World Cup qualifying section, behind Holland and Norway, before he knew his immediate future was safe. While his paymasters may not be looking for results, the fans will increase the pressure if friendly results do not go well. Scotland travel to Yokohama on 10 October to take on Japan and are due to face the Czech Republic at Hampden in March. But Smith has cautioned that other factors are also important in determining the success of these games.

Smith said: "I think there is always an importance to friendlies. One is you are trying to get a result, but the other aspect to it is that you're playing players who don't always play regularly to see whether they have the capability of playing. You might actually try out different tactics in a friendly because you have got something in mind for competitive games. So it's not always about the result, it's sometimes about the performance and what you learn from it. You do want to try to win games, and we go into every match trying to win, so I think there is an importance to friendlies. But it's not quite the same as it is with a competitive game when first and foremost you are thinking about the result and hoping the performance comes with it."