SCOTLAND are between the Rock and an easy place.

 

The match against Gibraltar at Hampden tomorrow in Group D of the European 2016 Championships should be straightforward in terms of result but it offers the most intriguing paradox. This is simple match that presents Gordon Strachan with difficult choices.

The game itself can be summed up in the following. Gibraltar have lost 21 goals in four qualifiers and have not scored once. They have 38 players to pick from and their clubs are ranked cumulatively 54th in Europe. Of 54.

They should be beaten comfortably and Scotland, potentially, could end the day top of the group.

So what is the problem for Oor Gordy?

The discussion of dropped points must be avoided simply because that eventuality borders on the unthinkable and would require most of the Amazon rainforest to cover in the aftermath of such a humiliation.

But he faces a test of his managerial nous and experience. Strachan has two big decisions to make: who plays in goal and who captains the side. Both decisions, of course, will mean little as to the outcome of the match.

One could put a scarecrow between the posts and it should be enough to confound the opposition and the leadership and motivational skills of an SAS officer are hardly needed to scale this Rock.

But the decisions will tell the squad and the public much about Strachan. The first decision concerns whether to reward loyalty, to maintain the rule of sticking by those who have done a turn for him.

David Marshall, the Cardiff City goalkeeper, is the man in possession, certainly in terms of competitive matches. He kept a clean sheet against the Republic of Ireland and is entitled to feel he is the No.1 after years spent travelling with squads to sit on the bench. There is no compelling reason to drop him.

He was diplomatic yesterday, saying: "I've played the last few qualifiers and I'm looking to play on Sunday - hopefully I'll not have a lot to do. With the standard of goalkeepers here it's difficult to consider yourself No.1."

He has, of course, been back-up to both Craig Gordon of Celtic and Allan McGregor of Hull City and he does not hide that difficulties of that past.

"I waited a long time to get a chance. Craig has done great to get fit and play at this level again, so I won't take it for granted."

Marshall was also offered the chance to agree that he would take being on the bench for the remaining qualifiers if it meant Scotland qualified for France. He avoided it. Instead, he said: "You take it as it comes. I'm desperate to play. It's been a long, long time since we have seen Scotland at a championship."

He also said: "I've had to wait a long time to get caps. It makes it that bit more valuable as I'm getting older when I've had to wait for that chance. I don't want to give it up."

Strachan, though, has a viable alternative candidate in Gordon, who is in another paradoxical situation of being a contender for Scottish player of the year while playing in goal for a team eyeing a treble.

The Celtic goalkeeper, too, is thought to be better with the ball at his feet and may be the best fit for the "sweeper" role likely to be needed as the ball may sail over a defence playing a high line.

The other decision also has its difficulties. The captaincy lies between Darren Fletcher and Scott Brown. Intriguingly, the Celtic player and the West Bromwich Albion midfielder have never started a game together under Strachan. The Scotland manager thus must decide who wears the armband tomorrow.

There is a school of thought that Fletcher may not start against Gibraltar, relieving the Scotland manager of a consequent decision. But the former Manchester United player was superb against Northern Ireland and offers an experience and a composure that may just be necessary if Gibraltar prove resilient in the early stages.

Strachan would only say last night that the ''big decisions" had been made. "It's fine," he reassured the world. "The team will know tomorrow. But everybody has had the same time and attention. We worked this morning and another group will go out and do exactly the same thing, so that everybody gets the same time and attention and everyone has to concentrate.

"We used to do set team shape but you knew fine well in an international get-together that if you were lining up against Graeme Souness and Asa Hartford and Archie Gemmill and you're playing with a doctor beside you and a goalkeeper in midfield you know you're struggling."

He added of his international playing experience: "I used to feel you knew by how long you spend defending against moves that it wasn't going to be you [in the starting line-up]. But because they've done so well part of it is I like to keep my options open until the point where I have to pick a team. You want to give them all the same time and attention, so that they feel part of it."

The big decisions will thus be unveiled to the team this morning before being unveiled to the public at 4.15pm tomorrow.

They may have little impact on events against Gibraltar but they carry a significance. They will show precisely what Strachan deems important, even if the Scotland manager has a ruthlessness in selection.

The most crucial matches of the group have still to come but there are still tests for the manager to overcome. The most demanding this weekend will be the challenges of selection, rather than the ability of the opposition.