McGhee Hails In-Form Fletcher

*Photo by Jeff Holmes *

Scotland assistant boss Mark McGhee claims Steven Fletcher may have played himself into the side that will face Georgia on Saturday with his weekend double. The Sunderland striker netted his first goals since December in the Black Cats' 3-1 win over Stoke to end a 10-month scoring drought. McGhee believes the former Hibernian frontman's return to form is perfectly timed as Scotland shape up for their second Euro 2016 qualifier at Ibrox. Fletcher was left on the bench for the Group D opener with Germany last month but Gordon Strachan's number two says the 27-year-old has leapt up the Scots'pecking order. "If we'd had a game three weeks ago when Stevie wasn't even in the Sunderland squad, then you imagine that he would have come here with a totally different outlook," said McGhee as he spoke to the media at the team's Mar Hall base. "But now he has arrived feeling great about himself. Could that sway minds in terms of selection? Absolutely. "Gordon will consider all sorts of criteria when picking his team but how a player is doing at any particular time is vital to that. "When we're scouting the guys, we don't write up reports based on how a player was doing six weeks ago. We watch them the game before an international and it is the current form, current state of mind and current fitness that is relevant to us." Everton forward Steven Naismith was chosen to lead the line in Dortmund as Scotland went down to a brave 2-1 defeat. But four goals in eight games for the Goodison side this term mean there is no chance of Strachan dumping the former Rangers man from his team. McGhee, however, would be happy to see him paired with Fletcher in a two-pronged attack. The former Motherwell and Aberdeen boss said: "Naismith has shown a flexibility with the way he has been playing for Everton that makes that an option. "He's been playing up front with Romelu Lukaku just off him, or Lukaku up front with Stevie off him, or even playing out to the side. "He can play just about anywhere in that forward area and his form is so good it is difficult to ignore him." With Allan McGregor ruled out with a shoulder injury, David Marshall looks set to continue in goal against Temuri Ketsbaia's Georgians. Burnley's Matt Gilks was called in to provide back-up but there have been increased calls for Craig Gordon to be handed his cap return after the Celtic stopper produced heroics in the Hoops' Europa League win over Dinamo Zagreb last week. But McGhee said: "I would be confident that if we put all four names in a bag and pulled one out we would be okay, because they can all do the job." Youngsters Stevie May and Ryan Gauld are the only new faces to have booked into the team's Renfrewshire hotel. And the coaches were keen to stress the Sheffield Wednesday striker and Sporting Lisbon playmaker were not just there to make up the numbers. "We haven't told them that they are just here so we can have a look at them, so just tuck in behind the rest," said McGhee, who also confirmed the squad was at full strength. "It's an opportunity for them to show what they can do. They both did excellently well in training and were mentioned in dispatches by the manager on the way off the field." Strachan's men gave Germany's World Cup winners an almighty scare last time out as they briefly levelled through Ikechi Anya's solo strike before Thomas Muller netted his second to hand the hosts the three points. But it was the verve of the second-half display at the Signal Iduna Park that has sparked real belief among the Tartan Army that their team is finally ready to qualify for their first major tournament since the 1998 World Cup. However, McGhee warned his players the hard work starts now. "You have to be able to handle that praise," he said. "You've got to be able to step up and accept that when you get some credit, you have to be able to live up to it. "I think we can do that. It's not false (hope), we have good players. We have developed a good way of playing that suits those players. Therefore I think we should be optimistic that we can get results."