Craig Levein is happy to carry the hopes of the Scottish nation on his shoulders in Saturday's crunch European Championship qualifier against Czech Republic at Hampden.

The Scotland boss knows his side need to take maximum points against the Czechs and Lithuania, who visit next Tuesday night, to have a realistic chance of winning a play-off place as runners-up to runaway Group I leaders Spain.

Levein's side are five points behind the second-placed Czechs with a game in hand and expectations are building ahead of the match which is a 52,000 sell-out.

The former Dundee United and Hearts boss welcomes the pressure and is confident his players are ready to deliver.

"More than anything I am looking forward to walking out on the pitch at Hampden in front of a full house with the hopes and expectations of the Scottish people placed firmly on the shoulders of myself and the rest of the group," he said.

"I can tell you that I am absolutely comfortable with those expectations and the players are absolutely ready to reward the Scottish fans for their support. We have Hampden full but we have people sitting at home who are glued to the television who are desperate for the national team to perform and win matches.

"If you want to play or manage at the top level then these are the expectations that you want to embrace. I can tell you every player involved in the squad is desperate to play."

Levein's passionate proclamation hinted at a need for redemption. The Scotland boss is still not allowed to forget the game against the Czechs in Prague last October where he was heavily criticised after he played without a striker and lost 1-0.

Levein was not for apologising, but claimed circumstances dictated his tactics.

"The criticism is always good, providing it's valid criticism. It was straightforward. It was the right decision to make and I will make decisions about the team based on what I believe is the right thing to do," he said.

"The job is different than it was a year ago. I have far more reasons to be encouraged by what I have seen in the last year.

"I have been involved in football for a long time and I can assure you, the team spirit, harmony within the group and the quality of players gives me great confidence."





Scunthorpe boss Alan Knill could hand a debut to new signing Damien Mozika when Colchester visit Glanford Park.
Knill raided his old club Bury for Mozika after the Shakers finally accepted a fourth bid for the midfielder from their npower League One rivals.
Mozika has signed a two-year deal at Scunthorpe with the option for a further year in the club's favour and is set to be passed fit after a recent calf strain.
Midfielder Michael O'Connor has missed the last two games with a muscle strain but comes back into contention to bolster a squad still missing Cliff Byrne (back), Jordan Robertson (ankle) and Matty Godden (groin).
Defender Niall Canavan and Everton loanee Shane Duffy are on international duty with Republic of Ireland Under-21s, while midfielder Oliver Norwood is away with Northern Ireland Under-21s.

Colchester manager John Ward is likely to revert back to the same XI who saw off Oldham last Saturday when he takes his side to Scunthorpe.
Following the convincing 4-1 victory over the Latics - the club`s first win since the opening day - Ward freshened up his side with six changes for the midweek Johnstone`s Paint Trophy tie against Barnet.
But he was left disappointed by what he saw as the League Two outfit ran out 3-1 winners at the Weston Homes Community Stadium.
That means Magnus Okuonghae, Ben Coker, John-Joe O`Toole, Kayode Odejayi, Anthony Wordsworth and Mark Cousins are all set to come back in.
The only poser for Ward may be the latter and the goalkeeping battle between Cousins and Ben Williams, who started his first game of the season in midweek having overcome a serious viral infection picked up over the summer.
New signing Tom Aldred will compete for a place in United`s matchday 16, but forward Ashley Vincent (knee) as well as youngsters Jordan Sanderson (foot) and Bradley Hamilton (fractured cheekbone) miss out.