Smith expects Faroe siege

He named a 23-man squad on Thursday including three uncapped players, goalkeeper Graeme Smith of Motherwell, Hearts' Robbie Neilson and Celtic's Stephen McManus, for the matches with the Faroes on Sept. 2 then Lithuania away on September 6.

Smith told reporters: "The Faroes will set out their stall to be very defensive when they come but we know that we have to try to break that down.

"And that's a part of the game, overall, that we have to start to show improvement. It's fair to say we have an opportunity to get off to a good start and that's a very important factor.

"But when you look at the other games we have in our section ...we know it's extremely difficult with games against Italy, France and Ukraine. The other games are the ones where we have to show we can pick up points, including the Faroes."

The Faroes clash has been switched from Hampden to Celtic Park in Glasgow due to singer Robbie Williams staging a concert at the national stadium.

Squad:Goalkeepers: Neil Alexander (Cardiff City), Craig Gordon (Hearts), Graeme Smith (Motherwell)

Defenders: Graham Alexander (Preston North End), Russell Anderson (Aberdeen), Gary Caldwell (Celtic), Christian Dailly (West Ham), Stephen McManus (Celtic), Graeme Murty (Reading), Gary Naysmith (Everton), Robbie Neilson (Hearts), Steven Pressley (Hearts), David Weir (Everton).

Midfielders: Darren Fletcher (Manchester United), Paul Hartley (Hearts), Lee McCulloch (Wigan Athletic), Nigel Quashie (West Bromwich Albion), Scott Severin (Aberdeen), Gary Teale (Wigan Athletic).

Strikers: Kris Boyd (Rangers), James McFadden (Everton), Kenny Miller (Celtic), Garry O'Connor (Lokomotiv Moscow).