“Show us some respect” Scotland skipper blasts Germans

Darren Fletcher set the tone on the eve of tonight’s Euro 2016 qualifier in Dortmund.

Gordon Strachan’s captain let his irritation show when asked to describe the Scotland team and players by a German journalist.

He said: “I think it’s a bit disrespectful you don’t know too much about our team. We have got a lot of good players. I think they are well-known. We play in the English Premier League, a lot of us, and we are on an unbeaten run of six matches. Since the manager has come in, we have had a massive improvement.”

Bookmakers make Gordon Strachan’s side massive 18/1 underdogs to beat the World Champions. But the Manchester United midfielder insists those odds fail to take account of the progress made under Strachan’s charge in the last 20 months.

“Listen, we feel we can surprise people,” he said. “The players are excited to be going away to play Germany and it is not often you say that!

“Yes, they are the World Champions. Their group of players were quite emphatic winners of the World Cup. But every one of us is saying it won’t be as easy as Germany would like to think.”

Fletcher joined the group late after surgery for a serious bowel disease. “I’ve seen the contrast in the belief the players have now and what it was like in my last competitive game, away to Belgium two years ago,” he continued.

“We had just lost to Wales, and we were all down because our chances of going to the World Cup had gone.

“That is far from the case now. The guys have taken on board the manager’s message and are not afraid to express themselves. We have a lot of quality. This squad is right up there with the best I have played with, the one which had Barry Ferguson and James McFadden when he was flying. We went close in the group that included both France and Italy.

“The performances have been good and results are there for all to see. We are undefeated in the last six matches and not conceding many goals. Now it is the time when there is a little bit more pressure.

“It is the start of another qualification campaign and we all want to get to a major Finals. But you have got to be able to deal with that pressure and I believe we can.”

“We will be respectful of Germany and expect them to have spells of possession. But as long as the possession is not hurting us, we are in a good shape.

“We have worked on what we are going to do when we get the ball. We want to be positive, create openings and attack.”