GEORGE BURLEY last night promised Scotland will play sexy football in their quest to reach the World Cup finals.

The national coach says the days of safety first and making the most of the team's physical strengths have gone.

Instead he will offer the Tartan Army a brand of free-flowing football which he hopes will bring positive results, starting against Norway at Hampden today and ending with a place at the 2010 showpiece in South Africa.

Burley is set to stick with his 4-3-3 formation against the Viking raiders but top guns Kris Boyd and Chris Iwelumo will be left on the bench.

Record Sport understands reports that new boy Iwelumo would get a starting slot are wide of the mark and Boyd will also be a sub.

Instead, James McFadden is likely to be handed the main attacking role with Celtic pair Shaun Maloney and Barry Robson on the flanks.

Burley has admitted his side must win this game or dreams of making it to South Africa 2010 will be all but over.

But he resisted the temptation to select an out-and-out goalscorer and is edging towards the same game plan that earned a win in Iceland.

That will mean Celtic's Scott Brown will be given an anchor role in midfield behind captain Darren Fletcher and West Brom's James Morrison.

Only a late injury or tactical U-turn will change Burley's mind this morning as he prepares for his first qualifier on home soil in front of a packed National Stadium.

In fact, it looks like 10 of the players he picked in Reykjavik will start again today, with only the injured Kris Commons, dropping out and Morrison coming in from the cold.

Burley had a three-man attack in the 2-1 win in Iceland and yesterday revealed that from now on Scotland would be known for their passing and attacking rather than their normal negative approach.

He said: "I want this passing style to continue. It's what the players are good at. We have good footballers so we need to get that game going. The old focus on a long ball game and being a strong team is outdated "We have the players in midfield who have great ability. So we work on the passing and movement in training.

"I think the days of long balls, when there are four attackers standing up there and everyone else is back, are long gone.

"You have to play it the way you think and it's not a black and white issue. The real secret is to get the best from your players, no matter what system you use.

"We have wide players who can take people on. That is exciting in itself and we have strikers who can take on players as well.

"Midfield is a very strong department for us so it would also be silly to bypass it.

Despite Burley's vision of how Scotland will play from now on he refused to criticise the cautious tactics preferred by previous managers.

He said: "Things haven't changed all that much. When you lose the ball you defend, when you have the ball you attack. That's always the same.

"To be fair to Scotland, look at the Euro 2006 campaign. They did the country proud. We have to build on that."

DARREN FLETCHER last night paid tribute to the late Tommy Burns for helping him become Scotland captain.

Fletcher revealed the Celtic legend humiliated him in front of his Scotland team-mates by nutmegging him during a practice match before a friendly against Wales.

The 24-year-old Manchester United midfielder admitted he was so shaken at being made to look a fool that his confidence was shattered for the game at the the Millennium Stadium where Scotland were thrashed 4-0 in February 2004.

But the football lesson stood him in good stead for the future and he learned a lot from Burns who died of cancer in May.

Fletcher will win his 40th cap when he skippers Scotland into action in today's World Cup qualifier against Norway at Hampden.

And he admitted he feels humbled at having racked up so many when a talented player like Burns was given only eight.

It was Burns who, with Berti Vogts, introduced Fletcher to international football in August 2003 - against Norway - and he won't be far from the Scotland skipper's thoughts as he reaches a landmark in his cap career.

Fletcher said: "Tommy was a great man and a massive influence on me. He was a great coach and serious when it came to football.

"But off it he was so funny and had the lads laughing.

"Yet I remember he nutmegged me in training before the Wales game. It was the chosen team against the rest of the squad and sometimes the coaching staff made up the numbers.

"I went to press him for the ball but he nutmegged me to get around me - then showed the moment on repeat about 20 times on TV. Tommy mentioned it during every trip from then on.

"It was no wonder we lost by such a big margin against Wales because my confidence was so low after he had done that to me. But he was a great man and a great coach and I learned a great deal from him."

The incident showed the magic Burns had as a player yet it earned him only those paltry eight caps.

Fletcher didn't need to be told how many times Burns donned a Scotland shirt because his mentor regularly reminded him.

He said: "Tommy told me he didn't get many caps because of the quality of the players Scotland had.

"He said he had more pennants for being in the squad than for playing so that just shows how lucky I am.

"I am sitting with 40 caps. When you think a great player like Tommy got only eight it's humbling.

"It's a great honour to win 40 caps at my age. I hope there will be more and that I'll be leading us to the finals."

Scotland boss George Burley needs brave hearts to take the country to South Africa in 2010 and that's why he turned to Fletcher, even though the player is years from his prime.

His courage and passion reflect that of the Tartan Army - and Burns warned him never to be a coward when the fans and his luck turned against him.

Fletcher said: "I will never hide. If I give the ball away I will try that difficult pass again because that is the way I have been brought up.

"One person who always remarked on that was Tommy. He used to say that if you give the ball away, never hide and show the courage and the bravery to keep doing what you were trying to do - and that's what I've done.

"What you don't want to do is pass the buck and pass the ball five yards sideways or back because you're not going to help your team that way."

Some players have made careers out of going across the pitch or backwards but it takes a special talent tokeep persevering and trying to split open defences.

And Sir Alex Ferguson would have had players out of Old Trafford before their feet touched the ground if they didn't have ambition.

Fletcher said: "Sir Alex always says possession is always good but possession across the pitch is not going to hurt teams.

"You have to try to play the ball through your midfield and to the strikers. That is quality possession and that is how the top teams play."

Fletcher will always remember his debut against the Norwegians five years ago.

He said: "It was 0-0 and wasn't the best of games but it was great to make my debut and that is something I'll remember for the rest of my life.

"I have come a long way since then and gained a lot of experience and become a better player. Hopefully I will improve."

Fletcher is the man to inspire those around him but has no intention of bawling at his teammates if things go wrong. He said: "I'm not a shouter or screamer but I have always been vocal on the pitch and always will be whether I'm captain or not.

"Centre of midfield is an important position because you can defend and really influence the game.

"I will continue playing my natural game in terms of organisation and leadership. That's why I have been made captain. I'm not going to do anything differently."

NORWAY FACTFILE

Scotland have played Norway 15 times over the past 79 years and have lost only twice.

The countries share 50 goals between them in these games.

The sides met each other in a World Cup qualifier at Hampden in 2004 where the Scots lost 1-0.

In the current FIFA rankings Scotland are 26th and Norway 39.

The last time the sides met Scotland were ranked 62nd with Norway 38.

Norway haven't lost in Glasgow in 30 years in five visits.

Kenny Miller scored twice to give Scotland a 2-1 win in Oslo the last time the sides met.

Denis Law scored a hat-trick in Bergen in 1963 but an all-amateur Norway side still triumphed 4-3.

Scotland's best win over Norway was the 6-1 thrashing at Hampden, also in 1963, with Law netting four and Dave Mackay two.

Stand-in skipper Darren Fletcher made his debut for Scotland in Oslo against Norway in a 0-0 draw in August 2003.

SFA chief executive Gordon Smith last night promised George Burley's job as Scotland manager is safe, even if his side lose to Norway tomorrow at Hampden.

Smith accepts qualification for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa will be unlikely unless Scotland win in front of a capacity ground ready to act as judge and jury on Burley.

But he won't be responsible for delivering any damning verdicts in the event of a fatal slip-up against Age Hareide's side.

Smith said: "Anything less than a win against Norway and our chances of qualification are doubtful.

"There's a big psychological factor at stake in this game. The next match we have is against Holland, and that's five months away. A win on Saturday is crucial under those circumstances.

"But it would be wrong to judge George on the strength of one match at the weekend.

His position as national team manager is not under any threat at all."

And Smith refuses to lumber himself with the notion that if Burley fails then the chief executive should take equal blame on the basis that he recommended him for the job.

Smith said: "I did the checks on the candidates for the post but my job as chief executive isn't directly connected to the results the national team gets.

"I've been involved in concluding a broadcasting deal that gives the SFA s50million over a four-year period between 2010 and 2014.

"And we could be on the verge of signing a sponsorship deal for the Scottish Cup that will last for the next three years.

"But I know that in the eyes of the public Saturday's game will be all that matters."

Scotland's failure to qualify for the finals of Euro 2008 meant the loss of s10m in revenue according to former chief executive David Taylor.

Smith now does the SFA's annual accounts without budgeting for getting to the finals of a major event.

He said: "We're getting by but we haven't budgeted for the World Cup finals, even though we've agreed to set aside a sum of money in bonus payment to the players if we do get to South Africa.

"Personally speaking, I'd go there for nothing if Scotland could win back the feelgood factor that comes with qualification.

"I was breaking into the game as aplayer when Willie Ormond took us to the World Cup finals in Germany in 1974 and I remember the boost the whole country received.

"The money we'd get from qualification this time could never be called an irrelevance but I'd go for nothing just to be there after the 12-year gap since we last made it."

The squad might be taking no wages for their appearances in the qualifying ties and working on a pay-as-you-go basis for the finals but the administrator in Smith knows being in South Africa would be a financial boost.

He said: "It would mean the SFA could increase the money we give to our member clubs and help pay for initiatives like the provision of astroturf pitches for youngsters throughout the country.

"But my first thought is that being at the World Cup finals would lift a nation. The players have to remember their obligation where that's concerned.

"George is a manager in touch with how the game works and a man who always does his homework on players. He has to make the right team selection and formulate the right tactical approach.

But the players have to produce on the big occasion as well."