By Andy Campbell

Weir has played in one of the five games Burley has overseen

On Thursday George Burley will name his Scotland squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifying match against Norway at Hampden.

The importance of the 11 October tie cannot be underestimated with Scotland collecting three points from their opening two matches and the Norwegians having taken a point from their home clash with Iceland.

Victory for Burley's men would put some distance between his side and Norway, who were expected to be our closest challengers for second place in Group 9 behind red-hot favourites Holland.

A draw or a defeat would almost certainly reignite the fierce criticism which followed the defeat in Macedonia and leave Scotland in a perilous position ahead of a daunting trip to Amsterdam in March.

Burley will have to make do without Stephen McManus, who is suspended after being red-carded during the win over Iceland in Reykjavik.

The Celtic defender has stood in as skipper in the absence of Barry Ferguson and Burley is likely to call upon the services of veteran defender David Weir to fill McManus's place alongside Gary Caldwell.

Rangers stopper Weir has been in and out of the squad since Burley took charge but, even at the age 38, he has continued to command a regular place in the Ibrox club's defence.

With Russell Anderson and John Kennedy injured and Andy Webster and Christian Dailly doing little more than warming the bench, Burley's central defensive options are further limited.

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The wellington-wearing Egil Olsen may have gone and Tore Andre Flo has hung up his more conventional boots but Norway still rely heavily on a long-ball game, with John Carew the focal point of their attack.

The muscular McManus would have been the ideal candidate to marshal the towering Aston Villa forward since Caldwell and Weir are both players used to sweeping up and organising as partners for more physical players.

Christophe Berra and Darren Barr have been given a brief taste of international football by Burley but neither are likely to be risked against an opponent as formidable as Carew.

Is Ross McCormack worth a call up to Burley's squad?

With the Norwegians' direct approach in mind, the strapping Lee Wilkie may be in Burley's thoughts, although it has been almost five years since the last of the Dundee United defender's 11 Scotland appearances.

Alan Hutton has missed Tottenham's dreadful start to the season with a foot injury, while the game also comes too soon for his former Ibrox team-mate Ferguson.

However, Kirk Broadfoot's impressive debut in Iceland and Kevin McNaughton's return to fitness go some way to softening the impact of Hutton's absence.

In midfield, Ferguson's ability to hold on the ball has been missed, with possession being surrendered far too cheaply in the games against Macedonia and Iceland.

Kevin Thomson continues to grow in stature at Rangers and he does the simple things well. However, Burley, given a clean bill of health, is unlikely to tinker for such an important tie.

Ross McCormack has made a good start to life at Cardiff and could win a place among the forwards, while Wolves striker Chris Iwelumo has netted eight goals in seven matches but has landed an untimely suspension.

An interesting selection dilemma has arisen in the goalkeeping department with Craig Gordon's understudy Allan McGregor recently dropped from the Rangers starting line-up.

McGregor has missed Rangers' last three matches with Neil Alexander keeping goal in the wins over Motherwell, Partick Thistle and Hibernian.

Should Burley follow Rangers boss Walter Smith's lead, Alexander, capped three times in 2006, could also be his direct replacement in the national squad.