Levein faces first real test

Qualifying for Euro 2012 starts tonight, ready or not. Hold your breath, Scotland.

The striking thing about Craig Levein's first team for a competitive fixture is the strength of the Rangers contingent, with Alan McGregor between the sticks, David Weir back in at centre half and Kenny Miller leading the line.

Most of these decisions are explicable - with Craig Gordon injured, picking a keeper is a judgement call between various candidates of lesser ability, and if McGregor is allowed a second chance then it might as well be in this game. Weir is old but has experience, though partnering him with the slow Steven McManus might just be asking for trouble. We'd much prefer Christophe Berra in there instead.

Kenny Miller earns the right to show if his goal-scoring start to the domestic season can be replicated in dark blue.

But elsewhere, the old injury curse has struck again, giving cause for chewed fingernails everywhere. With Lee Wallace out, Levein has chosen to move Steven Whittaker to left back and bring Alan Hutton in at right back.

Is Hutton fit? He's barely played for Spurs so this is a big ask, while putting the right-footed Whittaker on the left makes you wonder where the balance and width will come from. In midfield, only Barry Robson is left footed, and he's not a winger. There is a real fear that Scotland could be pulled out of shape this evening.

We're also relying on Lee McCulloch to do the holding job in midfield, another cause of worry. He's filled in there plenty for Rangers but international football demands a little more class and guile - Barry Ferguson, re-invented as a solely defensive midfielder at Birmingham, will be missed.

And then there's the reliance on Steven Naismith, too, who's hardly convinced in a Scotland shirt. Why not Graham Dorrans, who has been impressing so much at West Brom.

Having said all that, Lithuania ain't great, and Scotland shouldn't panic.

Fingers crossed, eh?

Levein hopes for a fresh start

Scotland kick off under another new manager tonight, as Craig Levein appears in the dug out for the first time for the friendly against the Czech Republic.

As the Czech Republic are also in Scotland's qualifying group for Euro 2012, both sides will put a little more importance on this knock about than usual.

The build up has, of course, been all about Levein's willingness to invite the Rangers bad boys back into the fold. He's extended invites to all of them, but only Kris Boyd will be involved this evening - Barry Ferguson apparently has a bye until next season, Lee McCulloch is injured, and Alan McGregor is helping the police with their inquiries / injured too.

And Boyd will be starting on the bench, both because Kenny Miller is the designated man for the "run about on your own up front and see if anything happens" role, and probably because there's a little public penance he has to pay before being inevitably summoned to take to the field.

We're pretty pragmatic about all this - it's true that Scotland have a limited pool of talent to choose from, so can't afford to exclude people for past misdemeanours.

But we'd distinguish between these four. Ferguson has been in fine form for Birmingham this season, and if he was as willing to play the holding midfield role for Scotland - rather than start strutting around the park like a cockerel - then he could definitely play a role. Boyd, meanwhile, is Scotland's best finisher, and has shown a little more to his game this season.

But McCulloch and MacGregor are both liabilities, and there are better players in their positions. Levein should move on.

Dundee - a tale of two halves

While one Dundee club are feeling the pinch, the other is spending money.

Craig Levein hinted last week that the Arabs are experiencing financial difficulties due to the collapse of Setanta, though the chairman Steven Thompson moved quickly to alleviate concerns. "We are not going into administration", he says, although it's safe to assume that belts are being tightened all around Tannadice.

One potential way to replace that lost TV funding could come from an unlikely source - near-neighbours Dundee FC. They have proposed offering £500,000 for Scott Robertson (who crossed the road to the Arabs under freedom of contract), although Levein is not happy about that idea.

Dundee, who spent spectacularly a few years ago before going into administration and getting relegated to Division 1, and who were supposedly in sever financial difficulties just a few months ago, are now talking themselves up again.

Director Calum Melville has bankrolled fresh investment in the squad and reckons that Dundee will be the 6th biggest club in Scotland once they re-establish themselves in the SPL.

Is this realistic? Fans still remember the crazy days of Claudio Caniggia and the White Feather, elite players tempted to Scotland's East Coast by wages that looked obscene at the time and proved to be the club's undoing. This time, the spending is more constrained, but six figure transfer fees are still way beyond a Division 1 club's earnings (they've already bought Leigh Griffiths for £125,000).

Melville, though, swears that the plan is for Dundee to become debt-free and self-financing, and reckons on a five year plan to get the club back to where it belongs.

What is he up to? Is the groundshare option going to be mentioned again? Either he has a rabbit up his sleeve, or is content to fritter away some of his fortune for fun.

Rangers still hoping for a party

As things stand, Manchester Utd won't be allowed to parade the Champions League trophy from the top deck of a bus. The trouble in the streets following the UEFA Cup final has scuppered that idea. It would be ironic, no, if Rangers find themselves driving around Govan in the next few days, with potentially 3 domestic trophies to show off.

So to tonight's decider, with Rangers off to Aberdeen and Celtic at Tannadice. A helicopter will be hovering above the North East, ready to swoop down with the trophy as soon as the destination of the title is decided.

We love fitba declared for Rangers some weeks ago, back when they had a 7 point lead, 1 game in hand, and looked unassailable. This may have been premature. Their subsequent wobble (and Celtic's 6 wins in a row) has put the ugly sisters level on points, but Celtic's superior goal difference makes them favourites.

Of course, everyone's assuming Aberdeen and Dundee Utd will just roll over and get beat, but Craig Levein has been particularly outspoken on this issue. Jimmy Calderwood may struggle to motivate a squad he has publicly criticised more than once, but the Arabs are making all the right noises about putting up a fight.

If that happens, Celtic could find themselves with the trickier encounter this evening. And Rangers could still win the title. We've not got it wrong yet.