Scots rage at Lithuanians' pitch
Scotland have complained to Uefa about the state of Dariaus Ir Gireno Stadium in Kaunas ahead of Wednesday's Euro 2008 tie against Lithuania.
There appears to be no threat of a call-off, but members of the Scotland camp have described pitch conditions as \"atrocious\" after heavy rain.
And midfielder Nigel Quashie said: \"It looks like a superbike track.\"
But Lithuania FA president Liutauras Varanavicius promised that new grass would be laid on Wednesday morning.
The former Hearts director admitted that the pitch was not in a good condition.
\"The problem is that it's a city stadium and the football association does not have anything to do with it,\" Varanavicius told Sir Stanley.
\"Investment promised into the drainage system has not been done.
\"And the pitch is bad because of six days of rain.
\"People will be working overnight to dry it out and change some grass in the morning.\"
Lithuania caused a major surprise by drawing in Italy on Saturday.
But Varanavicius said: \"We were believing from the beginning that it would be a good result for us.
\"But we cannot judge how the campaign will go after just one game.\"
Scotland manager Walter Smith said that Lithuania had also lived up to his expectations.
\"It just cemented what I thought of them in the first place - they are a good side,\" he said.
The Scots got their Group B campaign off to a fine start with a 6-0 win over the Faroe Islands at Celtic Park at the weekend.
But Smith said: \"What Lithuania's draw against Italy did was give people an indication of how good they are.
\"In Scotland, we are inclined to disregard a lot of the newer countries.
\"The standards are improving and Lithuania's result in Italy is one any country in the world would have been proud to get.\"
But the Scotland manager was reluctant to admit a draw in Kaunas would be a good result.
\"There will be a lot of draws in this group, but we would need to see at the end of the campaign if a draw here should be looked on as a good result,\" he said.
\"If we play really well and come away with a draw, we will be disappointed.
\"But, in the context of the group overall if you were to take four points from each of the double-headers then you have a decent starting position.
\"Hopefully, though, we can turn a game like this into a win.\"
Scotland defender Christian Dailly is also wary of the threat posed by Lithuania.
\"There may be a certain level of expectancy after our victory, but there is no point in getting carried away,\" he said.
\"We could quite easily lose the game on Wednesday and be really down about ourselves. So it all makes for a cracking game.\"
Smith set to drop Boyd to bench
Two-goal Kris Boyd is set to be sacrificed by Scotland manager Walter Smith for Wednesday's European Championship qualifier in Lithuania.
Kenny Miller is likely to be a lone striker, with Gary Caldwell coming into defence, despite Boyd's goals in the 6-0 home win over the Faroe Islands.
Hearts midfielder Deividas Cesnauskis is the main doubt for the Lithuanians.
His Tynecastle team-mate, striker Edgaras Jankauskas, has already pulled out through injury.
Algimantas Liubinskas' squad, on a high after Saturday's 1-1 draw away to Italy in their Group B opener, have two other Hearts players - striker Marius Zaliukas and midfielder Saulius Mikoliunas - in their squad.
But key to their ambitions on Wednesday night could be Tomas Danilevicius, who was a fitting scorer of Lithuania's goal as he plays for Serie A outfit Livorno.
The 28-year-old is in fine form, having scored 17 goals in 38 league games on loan to Avellino last season.
Scotland have been hit by four withdrawals from their squad.
Celtic defender Stephen McManus has a thigh injury, while Lokomotiv Moscow striker Garry O'Connor, who scored against the Faroes as a substitute, has a sickness bug.
Wigan midfielder Lee McCulloch and Reading defender Graeme Murty had already pulled out with injuries that prevented them being available on Saturday.
So Smith called up Hibernian midfielder Scott Brown, who played for Scotland's under-21 side on Friday.
The 21-year-old Brown made his debut against the USA in a friendly at Hampden last November.
But he is likely to be on the bench at best as Darren Fletcher, who was withdrawn at half-time after opening the scoring at Celtic Park, expects to play despite a hamstring problem.
However, Smith was keeping his cards close to his chest on his team selection.
\"Everybody approaches the game a different way when they are away from home,\" he said.
\"On Saturday, the onus was on us to score goals. But, although we still have to score against Lithuania, that will be tempered a bit by the fact we will have to put more emphasis on defence.
\"I will have to make decisions in every game about team selection because that is an important factor.
\"It is always difficult to leave out a player and no manager likes to do that.
\"But the team has to change a little from the one we started with on Saturday.\"
Liubinskas appears likely to adopt a more attacking philosophy than he did in Naples.
\"Our tactics worked,\" he said. \"It was a great result to begin the campaign with, although I can't say I am totally happy.
\"We showed about 70% of our potential. At home against Scotland, we will be aiming to win.\"
