McMANUS EYES LEADERSHIP TEST

McManus - hopes to impress.

Stephen McManus insists he is ready, willing and able to take the captain's armband once again and lead Scotland into their World Cup qualifying campaign.

The Celtic defender was promoted to national team skipper for previous friendlies against Croatia and the Czech Republic.

And with Barry Ferguson set to be sidelined until November following ankle surgery, he looks set to take on the role once again.

McManus is too humble to assume he will automatically be chosen to lead George Burley's team out against Northern Ireland in Wednesday night's friendly at Hampden.

But he would relish the honour as the Scots prepare to take part in their final practice game before the qualifiers begin in earnest with a double header away to Macedonia and Iceland.

Speaking at the launch of the new Scotland kit on Thursday, McManus said: "It's down to the manager to decide who his captain will be, I've not heard anything yet.

"If it is me, I'll see how the first one goes. Maybe you don't do so well and you get dropped for the next game so you never know what's around the corner.

"It's a tremendous honour to lead your country out and I've done it twice so far.

"If it happens again for a game or two then great. But the most important thing is the team, not individuals."

McManus insists his aim is always the same whether captain for club or country: to win games.

He added: "I'm the same all the time on the pitch - nothing changes for me.

"It's another game and it's all about winning matches, that's the most important thing."

Whether he is given the armband or not, McManus will be one of the players expected to set an example to the latest acquisitions in Burley's squad.

Callum Davidson received his first call-up since 2002 when he was named in the 24-man squad this week but the experience is a new one for Derby winger Kris Commons and Falkirk's Darren Barr.

As a fellow centre-half, Barr in particular will be looking to the likes of McManus for guidance.

The Celtic skipper said: "I wouldn't say I'm one of the senior guys just yet, I've not had 25 or 50 caps and I'm still a long way from that.

"But if I can help the lads coming in, I will certainly do that because it's not easy coming in to a new squad.

"You can feel nervous and the other players have played a lot more games.

"But guys like Darren are coming in and he certainly deserves to be there."

Burley is still seeking his first win as Scotland's manager heading into Wednesday's clash and McManus insists the Scots have no option but to be ready when they face Macedonia in their opening game.

He said: "I hope that will be the case that we will be ready.

"It doesn't seem that long ago that we played Italy so there isn't a lot of time to sit with your feet up, that's for sure.

"You roll on in to the next game.

"The performance is a lot more important than the result in the friendly games.

"Every footballer wants to win as many games as possible but to have a good campaign, you need good performances."