GORDON STRACHAN wants to play the elimination game in Warsaw tonight.

The Scotland manager is not looking to take anyone out. Rather, he wants to keep someone in.

Shaun Maloney's performance against Georgia at the weekend had his former boss at Celtic purring with pleasure.

The manner in which the Wigan attacking midfielder, who was winning his 34th cap, ran at opponents and swept past them to take them out of the game was precisely what Strachan had asked him to do.

Pace and trickery are the two most effective weapons in an eliminator's armoury, and the 31-year-old has both in abundance.

Given that Maloney has been limited in the number of games he has played for his club after recovering from a serious hip and back injury, exacerbated while playing and scoring against Macedonia a year ago, his performance at Ibrox - capped off by a powerful and well- executed shot which led to the only goal of the game - was all the more laudable.

Strachan would dearly like to see a repeat performance tonight, though the intelligent Maloney knows he would also be required to show his defensive qualities against a Polish team on a high after their 2-0 victory over their nemesis, Germany.

That's no problem for a man who understands completely the importance of team work and who has bought in 100% to Strachan's game plan.

Perhaps it is empathetic recognition of how tough it is to make your mark when every opponent appears to be six inches, and more, taller than you that makes Strachan enjoy watching Maloney joust with giants, and bring them to their knees.

Whatever the reason, the manager wants him to keep on doing what he is doing.

Strachan said: "Shaun has decided, 'Okay, this is what I am good at. Other people can pass the ball, but I can beat people'.

"That's what we asked him to do on Saturday, and he went out there and did it.

"It's not easy eliminating opponents at international football, but he showed he can do that, which is great for us."

Victory in Poland back in March was achieved while Maloney was still laid up.

It required a goal from Scott Brown to secure that morale-boosting friendly win.

The stand-in skipper's stand-out performance at the weekend will ensure that, along with Maloney, he will be man the Polish players attempt to keep quiet tonight.

However, that plays right into the hands of Strachan and his blueprint for success because this is a team which does not rely on one or two players.

It is the sum of the parts which is important to our success. So, if one or two players attract special attention, that simply opens the door for others to find the freedom to take centre stage.

Which is why Strachan has no fears about the likes of Brown and Maloney coming in for special attention after their sparkling performances against Georgia on a day when the final result did not accurately reflect how well the team as a whole had played.

"There will be players in the Polish team that we will probably be saying the same about," said the manager, who had Poland's victory over Germany watched by Andy Watson while he looked on from afar via the TV coverage.

Along with his backroom staff, the tape of the game has been analysed to the nth degree, and Strachan continued: "There will be some who we will take extra caution with when we come up against them because we know exactly what they can do.

"But, sometimes, you can't do much about it if these particular players are playing brilliantly.

"What you have to do is make sure you give these players in our team a platform from which to go and do that, and that's down to everyone else in the side.

"Having said that, Broonie makes his own platform when he plays the way he did at Ibrox on Saturday."

The Celt is certainly an inspirational leader, and a more-than-able-deputy for full-time captain, Darren Fletcher.

The experienced Manchester United star could find himself on the bench again tonight, so well did Brown and James Morrison dovetail in central midfield at the weekend.

That's just one of the big calls Strachan has to make for a match in which a draw would be a very acceptable result for Scotland as they attempt to ensure they keep tabs on the leaders of the ultra-competitive Group D.

That would complete a good week's work, and set Scotland up for the visit of the Republic of Ireland to Celtic Park next month.

Saturday's performance and result confirmed to everyone involved that Scotland are not just geared towards playing it tight and hitting on the break, nor that their tactics are only suited to playing away from home where the opposition have to break them down.

They are quickly becoming a multi-faceted outfit, with more than just one game plan.

However, the man calling the shots remains convinced that, despite the success he has brought since taking over from Craig Levein 14 games ago, it still all comes down to the men who are handed the jerseys.

"Listen, you can speak all day about systems and things like that," said Strachan, whose other job is doing precisely that as a big-game analyst on TV.

"But, actually, it's about players who can pass the ball to one another.

"And that's what they did against Georgia.

"You also have to be brave on the ball in certain areas of the pitch to get it to these guys who can get at the opposition.

"And that's what the likes of James Morrison, Broonie, Shaun and the full-backs did against Georgia. They were brilliant."