SFA chief Gordon Smith wants showdown talks with the SPL to stop Old Firm fixtures clashing with Scotland games.

George Burley's plans for his Scotland debut against Croatia tonight at Hampden have been wrecked by big name call-offs.

Rangers stars Christian Dailly, Barry Ferguson, Lee McCulloch and Allan McGregor have all pulled out, along with Barry Robson, of Celtic.

This has led to claims some players are saving themselves for the crunch SPL Glasgow derby at Ibrox this Saturday.

Smith is keen to ensure the same thing doesn't happen again, and said: "The SPL helped us this season by postponing games involving Celtic and Rangers before our match against Italy.

"Maybe we should now look and see if we could avoid having Old Firm derbies after international games. It doesn't do us any favours as we've lost players from the squad for George's first game.

"And I don't think it does the Old Firm any favours to have their players involved in intense inter-national games so close to a derby.

"We do talk quite openly with the SPL and our relationship is good so maybe this is something we can discuss."

Players withdrawing from Scotland squads ahead of Old Firm games is nothing new.

Last October no fewer than five Celtic and Rangers players - Scott Brown, Gary Caldwell, Paul Hartley, Alan Hutton and Allan McGregor - pulled out of the crucial Euro 2008 clash with Georgia.

Alex McLeish's men were defeated 2-0 - a loss which seriously damaged their hopes of qualifying for the Finals in Austria and Switzerland this summer.

However, a few days later, Brown, Caldwell, Hutton and McGregor all took part in the Old Firm game at Ibrox as Rangers won 3-0.

Meanwhile, Burley has challenged the players at his disposal to stake a claim for a permanent place in his plans ahead of the World Cup qualifiers.

He said: "The players here are very keyed up for the game and they are proud and honoured to be selected in the squad.

"The ones who start in that line-up will be very honoured to play for their country and I'm sure that's the only thing they are thinking about. We are working with 20 players who are all desperate to play and that's the most important thing."