GORDON STRACHAN is about to be re-united with one of the most gifted players he has ever seen.

A man whose skill could be set to music, and whose performances have given the Scotland manager as much pleasure as any footballer he has encountered in his 58 years on this planet.

Given how seldom Strachan ever picked him for the year he was his manager at Celtic, this eulogy will all come as a huge surprise to the subject, Paddy McCourt.

The enigmatic cult hero - now strutting his stuff at Brighton - is part of the Northern Ireland squad selected by Michael O'Neill to provide the opposition in a friendly at Hampden a week tomorrow.

It's the warm-up game Scotland need before they play Gibraltar in their European qualifier four days later.

And Strachan revealed he has already let O'Neill know just how much he is concerned about his players being Paddy-whacked.

"I was speaking to Michael about him, and said Paddy is as gifted a footballer as I have ever seen," said Strachan.

"Some players can see a pass, but not dribble. Others can dribble, but not see a pass. Paddy can do both.

"And, I have got to say, watching Paddy is one of the best things in football."

The memories of trying to get McCourt fit enough to play a part in the push for domestic titles and European scalps still brings as wry smile to Strachan's face.

He explained the dilemma. "Unfortunately for Paddy, he was not consistent enough over 90 minutes

"But for those 10 minutes here, 10 minutes there, you could set him to music.

"I like him as a fellow, as well. And I've known about him almost all of his career because my son, Craig, played with him at Rochdale when he first came over from Ireland.

"Having said all of that, I hope Paddy doesn't come on against us. I hope he just sits there on the bench.

"But it will be great to meet up with him again because he never caused me any bother at all during my time at Celtic.

"As a matter of fact, he gave me much more pleasure than a lot of others have done, just to watch him play."

For all this praise, it's extremely doubtful that, if eligible, McCourt would have figured in Strachan's Scotland squad.

It's tough enough for some ultra-fit grafters - including Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Steven - to burst into the group.

The 26 names selected by Strachan for the double-header against Northern Ireland and Gibraltar does include a new recruit to the Tartan cause, Bournemouth midfielder Matt Ritchie.

But Strachan - two years in the job - believes a good measure of where we now stand is the list of players who are finding it hard to be included in his squads.

What he is eager to do is check that the four month break since Scotland's last games - the vital win over the Republic of Ireland and the disappointing defeat to England - has not halted their progress.

Strachan does not want to find out the answers when they run out against Gibraltar, hence the decision to get back into the groove against Northern Ireland.

"The problem is you might have left some guys on fire four months ago, and perhaps they are not on fire now," explained the Scotland boss, who will use these games to assess if they need to recruit a replacement for coach Stuart McCall.

"At the same time, people who were down a few months ago, can now be on the up.

"So you have to think, how can I work with this one? How do I work with that one?

"That's when your sports psychology and man-management comes into it.

"You have to see who needs hours on the training field, and who doesn't."

Another important job will be to ensure all the focus remains on the game against McCourt and Co. though Strachan accepts, for fans at least, it is already drifting towards the qualifier against the group whipping boys.

Gibraltar have failed to take a point so far, and the new boys to international football are fully expected to get another harsh lesson when they run out at Hampden.

But Strachan revealed he is already finding this fixture tough to handle.

He said: "I've got to say, this was as hard a squad announcement as you can get.

"That's because you are trying to do a press conference, giving answers that are honest without being disrespectful to Gibraltar.

"I think I've managed that. I try my best to be respectful all the time and, over the years, I can't remember criticising anyone, player, club manager, or whoever.

"But it has been tough this time.

"It's hard work at the moment for Gibraltar to try and establish themselves.

"They are going to play against players who are better than them. They will be up against coaching staff that is more experienced than theirs.

"So, everything is against them.

"But what we can't do is make them feel bad about themselves."

The truth is Scotland are on a hiding to nothing in this qualifier against a side who have lost by seven to Poland and the Republic of Ireland, but Strachan insisted: "That's not a problem. I have been there before.

"But, there have been various scores against Gibraltar. The world champions Germany beat them 4-0.

"And I know fine well that, within three minutes, it is going to get edgy here with the fans.

"We understand that. But we have got enough experience in the team not to worry about that."

As soon as the squad assemble at the weekend, Strachan and his staff will begin to work on the mind set of his players.

But he teased: "We have also got things to work on that might just be a little bit different from our normal pattern of play.

"I think that will give our players something fresh to think about."