CRAIG BROWN, the Scotland manager, will stand firm against any attempt by Borussia Dortmund or Monaco to deprive him of two of his players before the crucial World Cup qualifier against Sweden in Gothenburg on Wednesday week.

Brown named a 21 man squad yesterday and intimated that he has already received a request from Monaco for the release of midfielder John Collins for a home match against Marseille tomorrow week.

He half expects the German champions to ask for Paul Lambert for their away game against Bielefeld on the same day.

"We can't compromise on this one," said Brown. "We try to accommodate the clubs wherever possible because there is no point in antagonising people for no good reason.

"We allowed Lambert to play for Borussia on the Thursday before we played Estonia on the Saturday last month, but that was because I knew he wouldn't be starting that match for us. He was being held in reserve for the Austria game four days later.

"Collins and Lambert, I can tell you this early, are very much part of the plans for Gothenburg and they will be joining us on Saturday week. It's slightly unfortunate for Collins that France don't have to qualify for the World Cup and so their league programme isn't cancelled at the same time as ours.

Duncan Ferguson, the Everton striker, impressed Brown with his scoring performance against Liverpool on Wednesday and is back in the squad, although a thigh injury threatens his eventual appearance.