Georgia will face Scotland with manager Temuri Ketsbaia fighting for his job, says Shota Arveladze.
The former Rangers striker netted the last of his 26 international goals when Georgia lost 2-1 to the Scots in Glasgow in 2007, and is hopeful his countrymen can sneak a better result on Saturday at Ibrox.
Ketsbaia's side opened their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign with a 2-1 defeat by the Republic of Ireland last month and Arveladze, Georgia's leading goalscorer, believes the Scotland game could prove 'crucial' for the tenure of one-time Dundee midfielder Ketsbaia, who is coming under increasing criticism for his defensive tactics after almost five years at the helm.
Arveladze, currently manager of Kasimpasa in Turkey, said: "The coach was very popular. When Ketsbaia took over he had a run of one year when he did not lose games, it was a big success for the manager.
"At the beginning, everybody accepted playing games to not lose, because it was such a long time where we didn't win and mostly lost But after a while, when the team needed to win, we still played with some defensive tactics. The people start criticising the manager and now it's a negative."
Arveladze was part of a golden generation for Georgian football, with the likes of Ketsbaia and Georgi Kinkladze in their prime. He was also joined in his four-year spell at Rangers by Zurab Khizanishvili as the next wave emerged. However, the 41-year-old admits that a lack of talent appears to have forced Ketsbaia into the defensive style that has attracted so much flak.
He told BBC Scotland: "To be honest, this is not the best generation we've had. Everybody wants them to play the same football as we have always been playing, and this team is a little bit defensive because we have less creativity and quality than we used to have. Because of this the coach decides to be more defensive."
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