New Scotland coach George Burley insists the performance rather than the result will be the priority at home to Croatia on Wednesday after a series of late call-offs disrupted his plans. The former Hearts and Southampton manager will lead the Scots for the first time since taking over from Alex McLeish in January.

However, seven players have pulled out of his squad, undermining his preparations. Skipper Barry Ferguson withdrew due to an ankle problem and he was joined by Rangers team-mates Lee McCulloch (thigh), Christian Dailly (toe) and Allan McGregor (knee).

Celtic's Barry Robson pulled out with a knee injury, a hernia will keep Stephen Pearson of Derby County on the sidelines, and Birmingham City's James McFadden is unavailable after undergoing keyhole surgery on a knee problem.

Burley, though, is looking forward to the match and, while believing Scotland can win, says the quality of his players' performance is more important than the result ahead of their 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ qualifying campaign, which begins in September.

Croatia are an excellent side and qualified for the EURO 2008 finals and beat England on the way so we know it will be a tough game.
George Burley, Scotland coach

The Scotland boss said: " It's one we're looking forward to as we're now building towards the next World Cup in 2010.

"We know it will be a tough game but hopefully we can get a good performance and if we do that we hope to get the right result. We're looking to win the game but for me the performance is the key.

"We've been training well, working on defensive and attacking options and we'll continue doing that. It's all about getting a feel for the squad and all working together so we're in good shape by September."

Burley rejects Old Firm theories
With a total of five Rangers and Celtic players withdrawing from the international squad ahead of an Old Firm game on Saturday, there will be conspiracy theories suggesting they have pulled out with that match in mind. However, Burley refuted these accusations.

"All the players were desperate to play for their country and wanted to be involved in the game on Wednesday," said Burley. "They all reported to the squad but the medics had a good look at them and they were not fit to play. It's as simple as that."

Although Scotland have not qualified for a major finals since the 1998 FIFA World Cup France, Burley believes they can make it to South Africa 2010. "Scotland were unlucky not to reach the EURO 2008 finals and came very close to qualifying," he said.

There is a great spirit in the squad and if we play to the very best of our abilities we can qualify. Playing in the World Cup finals is one of the biggest things you can do as a footballer and it's where you get judged so our aim is to make it to South Africa.
George Burley

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Croatia - who are ranked 12th in the world, two places ahead of the Scots - will be looking for a confidence-boosting performance and result ahead of UEFA EURO 2008, which will take place in Austria and Switzerland this summer.

However, their coach Slaven Bilic expects a tough match. "We wanted to play an away game against very strong opponents to give us an idea of what shape we're in two months before the European Championships and you can't ask for better than Scotland," he commented.

"They're a quality team who were very close to qualifying for the finals from what was probably the strongest group along with our own. It's a friendly but it will be a competitive match."