IT WILL be back to the future for Gordon Strachan tomorrow night when he sends out his Scotland side to meet Northern Ireland.

The men from across the water provided the opposition when the 58-year-old won the first of his caps back in May, 1980.

Playing alongside the likes of Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness, Danny McGrain, Joe Jordan and Archie Gemmill, the then 23-year-old passed the audition in front of manager Jock Stein.

He went on to enjoy an international career which saw him amass 50 appearances for Scotland and represent them at two World Cup finals.

But Strachan vividly remembers how nervous he was when taking those first steps on to the international stage.

And now that he is the man in charge, he is doing all in his power to ensure anyone coming into the squad these days feels much more at ease.

"I won my first cap playing on a bumpy, bobbly pitch at Windsor Park, and we lost 1-0," said the man who has overseen a massive turnaround in Scotland's fortunes since succeeding Craig Levein 26 months ago.

"It was the first of the Home Internationals. We then played Wales on the Tuesday and England the following weekend. It was an opportunity for me, and I was delighted to go on and win 50 caps.

"Tomorrow's game is an opportunity for some, but I don't want it to sound like some kind of trial match, because it is not. To be an international player is not about playing well or being good on that one day.

"It's about are you compatible? Can you play in this system? Are you a good team-mate? Do you have the intelligence to take in what we are saying? There are all sorts of things."

Strachan is proud that the criteria for staying involved has come a long way since the time he made the breakthrough.

He was just beginning to make a name for himself in the emerging Aberdeen team which went on to win trophies domestically and in Europe.

But when he pulled on the dark blue shirt for the first time in Belfast, he felt he had 90 minutes to prove himself.

"And a lot of the reason for that was because we didn't have the communication between managers and players," he reflected. "Now we do. I spent a couple of nights before this squad was announced speaking to people who are not involved and others who are involved.

"That never happened in my days as a player. The squad was announced, and that was it. If you were left out the next time, that was it. There's more to it now."

Those selected to play in tomorrow's friendly against Michael O'Neill's side and Sunday's Euro 2016 qualifier against Gibraltar know they will already have been under the closest scrutiny before they step out on to the Hampden pitch.

The competition just to make it into the 26-man squad is increasing by the match, and that delights the manager, even if it means he has to disappoint a number of willing conscripts.

Strachan said: "The squad I've picked, people are saying, well he's out, he's out, and he's out. He could be in, and he could be in. But it's not really me who is keeping anyone out.

"It's the players who have been here for the past two years who are keeping them out, because their standard of work is so high.

"They come along actually knowing fine well they might be doing two training sessions a day, and that it's not for any financial reward. They want to be here and be part of what we are trying to achieve."

Strachan continued: "The strength of the squad being picked is what is determining things. If I put it out to everyone in Scotland to pick the squad, it wouldn't be far off this.

"You'd get everyone putting in someone from their own local team. But, in general, you'd have these names because the squad is picking itself."

No-one has made more of an effort to be here for these two games than Shaun Maloney.

The 32 year-old is now creating the latest, and possibly last, chapter of his long career in the MLS with Chicago Fire.

Before he agreed to move across the Atlantic, Maloney checked with the man who he played under for part of his career at Celtic that distance would mot make him out of sight, out of mind.

Strachan has been impressed by Maloney's desire to remain involved and add to his 37 caps almost as much as he has appreciated the contribution he has made to the improvement in Scotland's form and results.

The logistics involved in travelling from Canada, where he was playing for Vancouver Whitecaps, hastened Kenny Miller's decision to call time on his international career, but Strachan is confident Maloney's circumstances are sufficiently different to prevent him following the same exit route.

"Kenny was way over on the far coast, maybe another four hours on in travelling time compared to Chicago," he explained. "He eventually found it too much, but Kenny had a family to consider as well. Shaun doesn't, and he can pick up everything and just go."

Strachan is also supremely confident that, consummate professional he is, Maloney will not allow his fitness or standards to drop now he is playing Stateside.

The manager said: "I've no worries about Shaun being in the kind of shape we need. He will be getting regular football.

"There are guys who will be coming to our squads who will not even be getting a game at clubs here, but they get a game for us. So, we have to use our eyes.

"For a long time, Alan Hutton was coming along, and he wasn't getting a game between internationals. But we all agreed we couldn't leave him out.

"And playing for Chicago in the MLS is much better than not getting a game at all."