Turn Again Scotland

Czech Republic general manager Vladimir Smicer is hoping his side will be able to get Scotland fans to turn their own players when the sides meet at Hampden in the EURO2012 qualifiers. He saw the benefits of this when he scored in the 2-1 win in Glasgow in EURO2000 qualifying in March 1999. This was the infamous game where Gary McAllister was booed by sections of the Tartan Army for what they perceived as an over-cautious performance. McAllister quit international football after this treatment, and Smicer has a vivid recollection of the game. Smicer said: "I played with Gary at Liverpool a couple of years later and I know what a good guy he is. It was so sad to hear someone being booed in his home game. It is always good for a team when you hear the fans of the other team unhappy. I think psychologically we had won the game against Scotland when they started to boo Gary. I am always happy when I feel the home fans are not supporting their team. Glasgow is a hard place to visit. I remember scoring in that game but I remember it was a tough game and we only won 2-1. Scotland were also 2-0 up in the return game but we managed to win 3-2. We have a lot of respect for Scotland after those games. It is always hard to play in the British Isles, even if the atmosphere is good for the players."

Smicer's side are regarded as Scotland's rivals for second place behind Spain in their EURO2012 qualifying Group and he admits they are not the team they were in the previous decade. Smicer, who has a non-coaching role in the Czech set up,  said: "At the moment, we are not in good form. We didn't qualify for the World Cup finals and we are in the process of rebuilding. We have a new manager as well, Michal Bilek, and we are both thinking maybe it's going to happen for us in this campaign."

Scotland have a chance to see how the Czechs are doing close up as they meet in a friendly at Hampden next month before they face them home and away over the EURO2012 campaign. Smicer added: "He (Bilek)  was in charge for a recent tournament in Dubai but that wasn't a full international event so Glasgow will be his first game in charge. Maybe Scotland fans aren't happy with their team but I saw them play against Holland when they lost 1-0 last year. I thought it was a fantastic game and I thought Scotland were very unlucky."