Scotland: Malky Mackay says Aberdeen players picked on merit

Interim Scotland manager Malky Mackay will start with two of the Aberdeen players in his squad against the Netherlands

Interim Scotland manager Malky Mackay says he would never pick players to sell tickets.

Former Scotland striker Kris Boyd claimed three Aberdeen players were selected for tomorrow's friendly with the Netherlands to boost the crowd.

"Derek McInnes has Aberdeen as the second best team in the country and the three I've picked have been outstanding on a consistent basis," Mackay said.

"They're hungry and talented. They're in the squad to play not sell tickets."

Mackay says two out of Ryan Christie, Graeme Shinnie and Kenny McLean will start at Pittodrie, with around 16,000 fans expected for the first international match since Scotland missed out on the World Cup play offs.

McLean has one cap for his country, while the other two will make their debuts if they feature against Dick Advocaat's side, who also failed to qualify for the World Cup finals in Russia.

Ryan Christie, left, and Kenny McLean, centre, are two of the three Aberdeen players called up by Malky Mackay

"When I announced the squad, there was a lot of upbeat attention to it, in terms of freshness," Mackay said.

"Everybody has their opinion. When I pick a team, it's to win a game. There is no-one I would bring to this squad purely to fill a jersey."

Mackay rejects the notion that Shinnie, McLean and Christie will look to prove Boyd wrong if selected - "they're out there to prove themselves right" - and says the players have responded well to the interim manager's approach.

Mackay has drafted in additional staff, but is focused on maintaining the club-like atmosphere within the squad.

"It's not changing what went before - I've not looked at that - I've just taken what I think is best practice in bringing a group together, how to talk to them, what messages to give them," he added.

"We've got four days and the messages need to be pretty clear when we've got the ball and when Holland have the ball, the amount of information, the tactical and video analysis. It's a balance.

"We've brought in the Rangers physio, the Montreal Impact physio and the Celtic sport scientist to add to the staff, along with two analysis guys."

'I've got a job, I'm the performance director of the SFA'

Mackay views the game as the start of preparations for the Euro 2020 qualifying campaign, with Scotland likely to play another two or three friendlies before then.

He has challenged players in the squad to take the chance to establish themselves as internationalists, but says his own focus is merely on this game and not on the vacancy to succeed Gordon Strachan,

"I've said to most of them, you've got the chance to grab a jersey and go and get 50 caps. It's about a pathway to Euro 2020," Mackay said.

"My focus has been on this week. I've got a job, I'm the performance director of the SFA, something I take very seriously. What I didn't want was to come here and have the players thinking it wasn't going to be done properly.

"They've got to see a leader, someone who knows what they're doing and imparts knowledge. I'm concentrating on this week."