Fletcher urges friendly focus

Scotland captain Darren Fletcher has stressed the importance of international friendlies ahead of their FIFA World Cup™ qualifying campaign. Scotland play Cyprus tomorrow night in the first of four games planned before they begin their bid to reach Brazil 2014. They are likely to begin that qualification process in September next year, and the Manchester United midfielder said: "Because there's such a long time until the first qualifier, friendlies are important. "If you're injured and someone comes in and performs well, you sometimes find it hard to get back into the team. It is important you win these games. On the other side, there are a lot of players going to be making their debuts and newcomers involved in the squad, which is going to take an adjustment. "The most important things sometimes in friendlies are the performance levels and to show that we are still progressing as a team and taking on board what the manager expects."