Burley looks at the plus points

Scotland boss George Burley was in a positive frame of mind despite the defeat to Argentina and knows they will need to take any confidence gained forward for their trip to Amsterdam.

The Scots are in a battle for second place behind runaway Group 9 Leaders Holland but Burley is convinced Argentina are every bit as good as the Dutch side they will face in 2009.

"That was a great work out for us," said Burley. "We were playing one of the best teams in the world who have a host of top quality players. Argentina totally dominated the first 20 minutes. In terms of movement, their strikers were very clever and gave us loads of problems.

"We were too deep and our midfield were not in a position to close them down. After that, though, we got to grips with the game. We got higher up the pitch and gave them a few problems. It was a cracking game and we held our own after that.

"It was very worthwhile with a view to the game against Holland. Every game's different. Argentina's style is different from Holland but what they are is a top class side, same as Holland. They are another top ten side and it is great to pit your wits against the best. We will go into the Holland game in a good mood because of this performance.

"The players learned not to get pushed back so far by a top side and we will take that into the Holland game. Our players were pushed to the limit tonight and held their own. It was a big challenge for us but we came out of it with a lot of credit."

He added: "It was definitely a worthwhile exercise and a great work-out for our players. We were playing against one of the best teams in the world and Holland are also a top ten team. It will be a tough game over there but there were lots of bonuses and pluses.

"It was good for our players to play against Carlos Tevez and other top names just as it was good for me when I played against Diego here in 1979.

"We had Barry Ferguson and Alan Hutton back and Allan McGregor did well but I thought our best player was Kris Commons, it was good to see him take players on. So we will go in to the Holland game in a good mood."


* One final footnote, the frosty relations between Butcher and Maradona showed no signs of thawing at the final whistle as both men pointedly declined to shake hands, and afterwards the Argie boss taunted the Scotland No.2 some more by cheekily asking...'Butcher, who is Butcher?'

However, try telling supporters in Glasgow last night that Maradona is not revered...