GEORGE BURLEY would have had every right to be feeling happy had he managed to draw with Croatia with a full complement of players to call upon for his Scotland managerial debut.

So to do so without several of his top men should leave the new international coach feeling extremely satisfied, as he reflects on a 1-1 result with a team strongly tipped to make a big impact at the European Championship this summer.

With this fixture already arranged before his appointment, Burley had no choice but to try and achieve a result against one of Europe's leading nations. But the task was made all the tougher during the week as he was robbed of the services of some of his key players.

ONE BY ONE GORDON Was at fault for Croatia's opener but redeemed himself with a couple of impressive stops during the remainder of the match. HUTTON Showed his quality at times and especially dangerous when attacking. Has made the right-back slot his own. NAYSMITH Booked for a bad foul on Darijo Srna. Has a fight on his hands to keep the left-back slot, but a reasonable effort from him. CALDWELL Great saving tackle denied Croatia a certain second goal after Craig Gordon's save was about to be converted by Danijel Pranjic. McMANUS It was a proud evening for the big defender as he captained his country for the first time and marked the occasion with a solid display at the heart of the defence. HARTLEY Asked to occupy the sitting midfield role but eventually pushed further forward to try and put his foot on the ball. D FLETCHER The Manchester United midfield man was sloppy in possession at times but improved the longer the game went on. BROWN Another game and another booking for the Celtic midfielder. Put in a decent shift before being taken off early in the second half for Teale. MALONEY A big disappointment. Never quite lights up international fixtures and still has to prove he is good enough to cut it at this level. MILLER Levelled the scoreline with a deflected effort. Played up front on his own and put in a shift as usual. S FLETCHER As if making his international debut wasn't difficult enough he was played out of position on the left of midfield and given the hook at the interval. His through ball created Miller's goal. SUBS Cardiff City's Rae took over from Steven Fletcher at half-time; McEveley was decent replacement for Naysmith; Teale allowed Brown to be rested ahead of Old Firm; Anderson relieved Caldwell with 20 minutes remaining; Boyd was unlucky not to net and Alexander was injury-time sub for Darren Fletcher. FANS The Tartan Army failed to turn up in numbers for George Burley and those who were there were fighting a losing battle to generate some noise. BURLEY Not helped by call offs but will be pleased with draw.

Captain Barry Ferguson, along with three Rangers team-mates Lee McCulloch, Allan McGregor and Christian Dailly all withdrew with injuries, which have made them doubtful for Saturday's Old Firm showdown, and it was the same for Celtic's Barry Robson.

While not all five would have started against Croatia, it certainly deprived Burley of the services of important players.

However, as he sits back in his office at Hampden Park today, he can be pleased with his first bow in front of the Tartan Army.

Of course, there are still those who would have preferred one of the other candidates to have been handed the job. Regardless of how Burley performs in the post, they are unlikely to change their opinion. But at an early glance, it would seem he has laid solid foundations.

Quite rightly, he decided against tinkering with the formation. Over the years, Scotland's best displays have come while operating within a 4-5-1 set-up. And the initial signs from the players is that they've enjoyed working under him this week.

So it all bodes well for the future. However, what Burley would have learned from this game that he didn't already know is questionable.

He would have been well aware Kenny Miller is his best option for the role of lone striker. His display against Croatia only confirmed that. Just how he struggles to perform as well on a consistent basis at club level is a mystery as he is a pain in the backside for defenders.

Despite being well outnumbered, he still manages to constantly put them under pressure. His pace also gives his team-mates an out ball and, although he was fortunate with a kind deflection for his goal, you get breaks when you work hard enough.

In the midfield area, Paul Hartley showed he is going to be an important player for his country even although Gordon Strachan only uses him sparingly at Celtic.

At the back, Stephen McManus, captain for the night, displayed good leadership qualities next to Gary Caldwell, who gave a good account of himself. And Alan Hutton was impressive on the right of defence.

But there were one or two performances that would require improvement.

Perhaps Burley will feel Shaun Maloney has more to prove at international level before he can feel aggrieved if he isn't included in the starting line-up, and the decision to play Steven Fletcher out of position on the left of midfield is one that, in hindsight, wasn't so clever.

And the left-back slot is still a position he'll have to try and find an established first choice for with both Gary Naysmith and Jay McEveley trying to impress.

As expected, it was Croatia who were the stronger of the two sides over the 90 minutes and it was anything but a fantastic display from Scotland. But they were efficient and worked hard and that is all you can ask during friendly fixtures against such quality.

The Croats started the stronger of the two sides and as Scotland struggled to get near them at the start of the game it looked as though it was going to be a long evening.

So it came as no surprise when the visitors took the lead after only nine minutes through Portsmouth's Niko Kranjcar.

Just like the final qualifying game against Italy, Scotland switched off as Slaven Bilic's team were awarded a throw-in and paid the price by conceding the opener.

Scott Brown was caught daydreaming as his man found space at the edge of the penalty area and dispatched a shot past goalkeeper Craig Gordon. In saying that, the shot-stopper didn't look too clever, either.

However, with some tinkering to the formation and tactics - Burley felt the midfield was sitting too deep - Scotland gradually felt their way back into the game and on the half- hour mark Miller levelled the scoreline.

It was a decent ball down the line from Steven Fletcher and Miller gambled on his marker missing the ball and cut inside before his effort was deflected in.

After that, it was Croatia who dominated play but found Gordon a tough man to beat for a second time.

The second half was much the same, without the goals. Gordon made a few important saves and at the other end sub Kris Boyd went close as did Miller with a header.

But a draw was a decent result for Burley and sets him up nicely for his second game in charge when he faces the Czech Republic in May.

Another good result there will really help him prove he was the right man for the post.

Scotland: Gordon, Hutton, Naysmith (McEveley 62), Caldwell (Anderson 70), McManus, D Fletcher (Alexander 90), Hartley, Brown (Teale 66), Maloney (Boyd 72), Miller, S Fletcher (Rae 46). Subs Not Used: Marshall, Berra, O'Connor. Booked: Brown, McManus, Naysmith.

Croatia: Pletikosa, R Kovac (Knezevic 73), Corluka (Simic 85), Simunic, Srna (Leko 63), N Kovac (Vukojevic 46), Modric, Kranjcar, Pranjic, Petric (Klasnic 58), Olic (Budan 57). Subs Not Used: Galinovic. Booked: Nico Kovac, Robert Kovac, Vukojevic, Simunic.

Ref: Terje Hauge (Nor). Att: 28,821.

NEED TO KNOW

SCOTLAND......1 CROATIA......1

Was it a good game? Not fantastic. Croatia enjoyed long spells of possession and the lack of atmosphere in the stadium didn't make for an inspired display.

Scotland's top man? Kenny Miller netted a goal and put in an excellent shift as the lone striker. Can always be relied upon for Scotland.

And Croatia's best player? Luka Modric, the man who ended England's Euro 2008 dream, pulled the strings in the middle of the park and oozed quality.

Referee watch: Norway's Terje Hauge had a busy evening and was forced to issue several yellow cards as both set of players didn't hold back.

Who is up next? Another friendly fixture against Czech Republic in Prague on May 30.

Talking point

Will George Burley stick with a 4-5-1 or try to adopt a more attacking approach in the future?