Scotland v Brazil: Captain Gary Caldwell finds Scottish football a turn-off
As he began preparations for Sunday's glamour friendly against Brazil at The Emirates, Scotland's captain revealed that he would rather do just about anything else then watch most Scottish football fixtures.
Well out of it: Gary Caldwell, in action against Blackburn, loves life at Wigan and pays scant regard to the SPL Photo: ACTION IMAGES
By Roddy Forsyth 10:00PM GMT 21 Mar 2011
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Gary Caldwell also condemned the set-up that sees the Old Firm face each other seven times this season, although he confessed that the sight of his former team lining up against Rangers can make him wistful.
Caldwell, one of the senior members of the 21-strong Scotland squad which on Monday settled into a week long training camp at La Manga, on Spain's Mediterranean coast – they fly to London on Saturday morning – was candid in his assessment of the environment he quit to sign for Wigan Athletic.
''Sometimes when I'm watching the TV and it's the start of an Old Firm game I think to myself: 'I wouldn't mind being there' but I can't say I've missed being at Celtic.
''To be honest I only ever watch the Old Firm games. I suppose I'd miss the big Champions League games but I don't miss what comes with being a Celtic player.
''Look at the fallout after the Scottish Cup tie between Rangers and Celtic – it was crazy. I watched it and it was a brilliant game, full of excitement, and then came the aftermath.
''For me, that sums up Scotland and Scottish football to be perfectly honest, but there's the familiarity in the league, with everyone playing each other so often. There will be seven Old Firm games this time and I'm sure the players are even sick of them.
''I know it's difficult for the league to expand to make it better, but having so many games against the same teams isn't great. Unfortunately the other games don't grab me at all – I'd rather be doing something else than watch some of the games they show on TV.
"I know a lot of the lads at our club watch the big Old Firm games but the other matches don't interest many people outwith Scotland. Listen, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Celtic and I'll always be grateful for the opportunity to play at such a great club but in football you need to move on and I'm really enjoying the challenge at Wigan.
''We're never going to even be a tenth of the size Celtic are – they're a massive club world wide – so in that sense there is no comparison, but the league Wigan plays in is the best league in the world. That's the excitement and challenge I have."
Caldwell did concede, however, that he has had to acclimatise to scrapping at the other end of the table, after being accustomed to contending for honours at Parkhead.
''It's different from what I became used to at Celtic," said the central defender. "At Celtic everything is on top of you with the whole world wanting to know your business.
''The upside is that you're fighting for league titles. At Wigan it's all about survival and it's a different type of pressure because there is more to lose with the threat of relegation from the Premiership.
''If I ask myself which I prefer then it's winning league titles. Anyone would prefer playing and winning championships, but at Wigan we have a fight to stray in the league and it would be a massive achievement if we did that.
''There are so many teams down there struggling at the moment it's going to take a big effort to stay up. I still have the mentality to try and win every game and at Wigan we do that.
"We've shown against some big teams we can compete against them. The problem is that we haven't had the consistency we should have had."
Nor does The Emirates hold fond memories for Caldwell. "I've not done too well there," he said ruefully. "This season we lost 3-0 and I was sent off.
''It's a great stadium and a fantastic place to play. Quite often you end up getting a chasing off Arsenal but hopefully Sunday will be different.
''With all the fans we're going to have there, it'll be a wonderful occasion. We've had positive results in the last two games against teams we were expecting to beat but this will be different.
"They have real quality players so it's a test for us. We need to try and compete with these types of nations. It's OK being able to say you played against Brazil but you want to be able to say you competed against them."
As for the headlines generated by Levein's decision to relax his ban on players having a drink – at least for the first day or two of their sojourn in southern Spain – Caldwell did not envisage a repeat of the Boozegate antics involving Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor, which did such damage to George Burley's reputation as Scotland manager.
"The manager is showing a lot of trust in us so we need to respect him," Caldwell said. "We need to make sure that when we do things we do them in the right manner.
''Everyone can let their hair down and enjoy themselves a bit but there is also a point where we have to be professional and know we're representing our country. Craig isn't the type of manager I'd like to cross and I think all the other boys feel that way too.
"You need that as a manager and he certainly has the respect of everyone."
Levein has not had to deal with the number of call-offs that have given him problems previously, but he has lost significant players, especially from midfield. "Graham Dorrans and Darren Fletcher are out, as is Steven Naismith," said the manager.
"I knew when the Co-operative Insurance Cup final went to extra time that Steven would likely have a problem after his long layoff with the hamstring injury and, sure enough, he woke up this morning and felt it tighter.
"Phil Bardsley's the one I'm a wee bit concerned about – he's getting a scan today on his knee. Iain Turner is out and we've brought Cammy Bell in to maintain our quota of goalkeepers."
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