Bilic happy as underdogs

Croatia boss Slaven Bilic has revealed he is happy for his nation to play the 'underdog card' in the upcoming Euro 2008 tournament. Croatia take on Scotland in a friendly tomorrow for a tough visit to Hampden Park.

“Of course it’s a big blow when they are missing some players, but I don’t think we are going to have a lesser test because they have enough quality players to play on the highest level,” he said.

“Those, let’s say ‘new players’, are going to be more motivated and will give everything to get another chance with the new manager.

“We have respect so we’re not looking for more. The fact is, we are never going to have respect like a big nation because we are not a big nation – we could beat England ten times.

“We’ve already beaten England, Italy and Argentina but we are quite happy with our respect. We definitely don’t mind it, we like to stay as underdogs.”