OLD FIRM ANXIETY FOR BURLEY

Burley - already missing Ferguson and Hutton.

George Burley admits he will have his fingers crossed watching this weekend's Old Firm clash hoping his injury curse does not strike again.

The Scotland manager named 11 players from Celtic and Rangers in his 25-man squad at Hampden today ahead of the World Cup qualifiers against Macedonia and Iceland.

His previous three squads, for friendlies against Croatia, the Czech Republic and Northern Ireland, were all hit hard by withdrawals and he already heads into the crucial double-header without injured key duo Barry Ferguson and Alan Hutton.

With so many players involved in a single match at Parkhead on Sunday, Burley admits it will be a tense 90 minutes from his own point of view.

"Fingers and toes will be crossed watching that game," he said.

"We've had three friendly games, which have given me the chance to have a look at players.

"I have the team in my mind and we will see who is going to be available. We need luck.

"We've been unfortunate with Barry Ferguson and Alan Hutton, who are two key players.

"But we have other players who can take their place and it's important they are all focused for the challenge ahead."

One player likely to be involved in the first Old Firm derby of the season is Shaun Maloney, who has received a recall to the Scotland squad after just 70 minutes of action for Celtic following his move from Aston Villa back to Parkhead.

Burley said: "I spoke to Shaun and he feels with a couple of games under his belt he will be 100% and back to his best, so I have no hesitation in bringing him back into the squad.

"When you move to a new club, sometimes it takes time to settle. But, I suppose, with Shaun it's not a new club.

"I think it has given him a new lease of life. He's a little spark, he's a very inventive player, he can play off the striker and wide on the left.

"He's got ability and that's something you want in your squad. He has missed a bit of football but he certainly looked lively on Saturday."

Two Old Firm players absent from the squad were Rangers duo Christian Dailly and Lee McCulloch but Burley insists the door is not closed for future internationals.

"Not at all," he said. "I've named a squad of 25 and we know we sometimes get call-offs so they are certainly not out of the equation.

"Both are experienced players. Christian is a player who can play in numerous positions and Lee McCulloch is injured at the moment.

"But they are certainly very much in our plans.

"Each squad is different and, as months go past, it's up to players to show that they are in form to get back into the squad."

Burley may have a firm idea of the team he wants to play in Macedonia but refused to be drawn on his likely front pairing, with James McFadden and Kenny Miller throwing doubt over their partnership with a disappointing display against Northern Ireland.

"We've got options," said Burley.

"We've had a good look at it. I've got a good idea of my team, formation, the way way we are going to play.

"That's something we will be working on once the squad gets together and we will try to get the right result when we are over there."

Former Scotland boss Craig Brown was dispatched to Luxembourg to watch Macedonia's 4-1 win last week and Burley is under no illusions about the size of task his players face in their opening two games.

"We spoke to the players when we met up originally and spoke about 17 points from the group," Burley said.

"It's not about one or two games, it's about the whole campaign.

"We are very focused. We have two tough away games. We have had Macedonia watched on a few occasions and they did very well in their last game against Luxembourg.

"They are a good team and they have nine of the players who played against England in 2006 and they beat Croatia 2-0 in 2007 at home.

"So it's going to be a very difficult game - but that's the World Cup.

"It's the biggest competition, every country in the world takes part, and it's an exciting time.

"We have to go in there with belief and give it our best shot to try to qualify."