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World Cup Euro Qual Group A

Strachan ready to take chances

Gordon Strachan has declared he is ready to "gamble" as he begins his career as Scotland manager.

Last Updated: 01/02/13 at 08:38 Post Comment    Bet with SkyBet  World Cup Europe Qualifiers. Click here to bet.

Gordon Strachan: Keen to make an impact

Gordon Strachan: Keen to make an impact

Strachan kicks off his reign with a friendly against Estonia next Wednesday and is keen to get his point across to the players beforehand.

The Scots sit bottom of their World Cup qualifying group with two points from four games and must beat Wales and Serbia next month to have any hope of an unlikely turnaround.

And Strachan aims to come up with a system that gets his best players in position to hurt other teams.

Strachan, who recalled Lee Wallace, Chris Burke and Ross McCormack as he named his squad on Thursday, said: "In the next couple of months we need to gamble, whether it's gambling on the field or on the coaching field, because I'd like to put a lot of things in the players' minds and that will have to be on the coaching field.

"My gamble is then, before the Estonia game, do we do that much that they might be a wee bit tired for the game or do we do little and try to win the game?

"We have got to find a happy medium where I can put across a few things on the training field.

"The problem is we all come from different styles of football. We need to find one that suits the way we want to play.

"The way we want to play is to try to get the best players on the pitch and find a system that suits.

"I have got an idea of how I would like to play football in the future but that's a long way off."

Strachan used the example of Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, who has changed his system in recent weeks to allow Daniel Sturridge to play alongside Luis Suarez.

"He has said: 'I'm a clever manager, I'll get my two best players in'," Strachan said. "He has changed his system and the football they have played at Norwich and Arsenal was fantastic. You can't have your best players on the bench just to suit a system.

"The long term is (performance director) Mark Wotte's job, mine now is to deliver victories with a formation I know will work with the players I have got.

"It's hard just to have one because you might have two of your best players missing so then you have to have something else.

"And there's a difference at home and away.

"As I said, we will have to gamble."

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