We have a plan for Bale, says Scotland assistant coach

Scotland assistant manager Mark McGhee says his side has a strategy in place to deal with Tottenham superstar Gareth Bale when it faces Wales in a World Cup qualifier in Glasgow on Friday.

Gordon Strachan's second-in-command is confident that the hosts can deal with the winger and insists that they will carry their own threat as well.

"I've been watching a lot of Gareth Bale recently. We will have a plan to deal with him but we are the team and will exert our own pressure," McGhee told reporters. "I've seen teams who have dealt with Bale's quality. I don't think we will be man-marking him.

"We will ask players to do what they are good at. It's not a case of molding into a rigid system."

On-loan Hull City forward George Boyd and Dundee United's Gary Mackay-Steven are both expected to feature in Friday's clash and have expressed their confidence in their abilities to deal with Bale and pick up a decent result.

"I think it's important not to just concentrate on Gareth Bale," Boyd said. "I've played against him before but we also have good attacking options."

Mackay-Steven echoed his fellow Scotsman's views, saying: "As a winger, I appreciate how good Bale is but we need to focus on what we can do."

Scotland currently sits at the bottom of Group A with two points after four games, while Wales is just one point ahead of the Scots in fifth.

Vancouver Whitecaps forward Kenny Miller was also selected by Scotland for the match, which will be followed by another qualifier against Serbia on Tuesday.