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Scotland captain Darren Fletcher warns referee to beware of Lithuania divers
Manchester United player also impressed by Craig Levein...
2 Sep 2010 18:44:00
By Matt Monaghan
Scotland captain Darren Fletcher has urged referee Cuneyt Cakir to watch out for Lithuania's antics after being the victim of a blatant dive in the past.
Fletcher, 26, has bitter memories of the last time the sides met in the 3-1 Euro 2008 qualifying victory. Despite winning the match, Saulius Mikoliunas flopped over Fletcher's outstretched leg without contact to win a penalty.
The Manchester United star has urged the Turkish official to be vigilant ahead of the Scot's opening Euro 2012 qualifier.
He said: "I think you're aware of it in most games, especially in international football.
"It's a little bit of a different culture to what we expect or are used to in the British game.
"All you can hope for is that the referee is strong and gets the major decisions right.
"Things in midfield aren't really a concern but it's the major decisions you hope the referee gets right and is strong on the night. That's all you can ask for as a player."
Friday's fixture marks the first competitive appearance for manager Craig Levein. Although a 3-0 friendly loss to Sweden was registered last month, the 48-times capped player backed the ex-Hearts boss to be a success.
"I've been very impressed, he is a really experienced manager and definitely knows what he wants from his players," Fletcher said.
"He has made it very clear that the performance in Sweden wasn't acceptable. He expects certain standards from Scottish players, and they weren't reached in Sweden. "So maybe that result was a timely reminder of getting back to basics and the manager stamping his authority on the team.
"The players seem to have responded this week, training has been very good, the tempo has been very good, the work rate has been very good. All you can ask for is that what you practise in training is taken into games."
Darren Fletcher has established himself as a regular fixture in both the Scotland and Manchester United starting line-ups. He is currently rated by the Castrol Rankings as the 64th best player currently plying his trade in one of the top five leagues in Europe.
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Fletcher, 26, has bitter memories of the last time the sides met in the 3-1 Euro 2008 qualifying victory. Despite winning the match, Saulius Mikoliunas flopped over Fletcher's outstretched leg without contact to win a penalty.
The Manchester United star has urged the Turkish official to be vigilant ahead of the Scot's opening Euro 2012 qualifier.
He said: "I think you're aware of it in most games, especially in international football.
"It's a little bit of a different culture to what we expect or are used to in the British game.
"All you can hope for is that the referee is strong and gets the major decisions right.
"Things in midfield aren't really a concern but it's the major decisions you hope the referee gets right and is strong on the night. That's all you can ask for as a player."
Friday's fixture marks the first competitive appearance for manager Craig Levein. Although a 3-0 friendly loss to Sweden was registered last month, the 48-times capped player backed the ex-Hearts boss to be a success.
"I've been very impressed, he is a really experienced manager and definitely knows what he wants from his players," Fletcher said.
"He has made it very clear that the performance in Sweden wasn't acceptable. He expects certain standards from Scottish players, and they weren't reached in Sweden. "So maybe that result was a timely reminder of getting back to basics and the manager stamping his authority on the team.
"The players seem to have responded this week, training has been very good, the tempo has been very good, the work rate has been very good. All you can ask for is that what you practise in training is taken into games."
Darren Fletcher has established himself as a regular fixture in both the Scotland and Manchester United starting line-ups. He is currently rated by the Castrol Rankings as the 64th best player currently plying his trade in one of the top five leagues in Europe.
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21:49 BST -
So, judging from those tweets, people aren't too confident on Portugal qualifying from their group. Who will qualify from each group? Let me know on Twitter.
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