Scotland manager Gordon Strachan believes deciding who starts up front against Slovenia will be one of the biggest decisions of his managerial career.
Steven Fletcher, Leigh Griffiths, Chris Martin, Steven Naismith and Jordan Rhodes are the five attackers in contention to start against Slovenia in tomorrow evening’s must-win World Cup qualifier.
On-loan Sheffield Wednesday forward Rhodes is the only one of the five who has been a regular starter at club level and Strachan admits he has spent plenty of time pondering who will lead the line in a game his team can’t afford to lose.
Strachan, whose side drew 1-1 with Canada at Easter Road on Wednesday, said: “Is it one of the biggest decisions I will have made? Yes. We can’t afford to get it wrong.
“I don’t think we could have done any more coaching on shape or things like that.
“Management at club level is all about recruitment and making sure you get the right people. At international level it is all about picking the right people on the day.
“I have got to back myself to make the right call and we understand the consequences.
“I want one of them to step forward and make a case to be picked. It will be up to me to decide and we may end up playing two up front.
“That is something we have got to look at but someone has to come to the fore to lead the line.
“I have a really good idea about the rest of the players that will be playing but it is about deciding who is the best striker – or two – that is compatible with the rest of the team.”
Scotland required a last-minute leveller from James McArthur to scrape a 1-1 draw with Lithuania on their last outing at Hampden in October.
That was followed by successive 3-0 defeats by Slovakia and England to leave Strachan’s side second bottom of the group.
The Scotland manager added: “England only had three shots on target against us. I was really pleased with the performance, which you may think is a bit silly.
“I felt the players were unfairly treated by the footballing gods.
“We will produce something like that again but we will score a goal. We will be better than we were against Canada on Wednesday.
“Sometimes to learn a few things you have to take a smack and that was what happened.
“Playing the game was one of the best decisions we have made.
“It maybe wasn’t a great night for us but hopefully we will produce a performance on Sunday that will make that game worthwhile.”
