Naismith cautions teammates

Scotland forward Steven Naismith admits his team-mates face a fight to save their international careers after becoming the first European country to be ruled out of the race to the World Cup.

Although their World Cup hopes are over, Everton star Naismith insists Strachan's players must be 100 percent focused in the remaining fixtures against Croatia, Belgium and Macedonia because they are likely to be dropped for good if not.

"We've got very tough games but the players are playing for their future international careers," Naismith told BBC Scotland on Wednesday.

"I said earlier in the week that I think we've got to grow up in terms of digging in and being mature about when we need to sit in and soak up the pressure and when we need to expand and try to go for the goals."

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 03/29/2013 page22)