Craig Levein turns his anger from Lithuania to Liechtenstein

Craig Levein was never one to shirk confrontation, either during his playing days or his time as a club manager. He appears to have adopted the same combative stance on the international scene. Scotland's manager launched an outspoken attack both on what he perceived as cynical Lithuania tactics and poor refereeing in the immediate aftermath of Friday's scoreless draw in Kaunas. His words were laced with frustration after the Scots failed to turn territorial dominance into tangible reward. "The magnitude of that game just makes you a little bit more disappointed," he says. Levein's latest target is the management of the Liechtenstein national team, who will visit Hampden Park on Euro 2012 qualifying business on Tuesday. He has been riled by Liechtenstein's refusal, as would normally be regarded a basic courtesy, to supply him with a DVD recording of their meeting with Spain on Friday. Liechtenstein's notable lack of match action before the 4-0 loss to the world champions means they are already enough of an unknown quantity for Levein to be slightly edgy, before this mini-international incident. "The hardest team to look at so far have been Liechtenstein because they just haven't played," Levein says. "So the information from that Spain game is important. "I was annoyed that the Liechtenstein FA contacted us and said they weren't going to send us the DVD. They contacted the Scottish FA last Wednesday to say that. We send our DVDs to other countries right away; it is a courtesy. So I was annoyed as soon as I heard that." Levein's scouts have now managed to collect the recording in question, but only after assistance from the Spanish. When the Scotland manager finally witnesses the basic frailties of Tuesday's opponents, he will surely be convinced to adopt a rare, attacking style. Kris Boyd, James McFadden and Graham Dorrans are among those pushing for places in Levein's starting XI after sitting out the bruising encounter in Lithuania. "Everyone has Liechtenstein as underdogs, rightly so, but there is always an element of risk," Levein says. "You know how the game works if we get to half-time and we haven't scored. Let's just say an early goal would be good. It goes without saying that when we go away from home, such as on Friday, we want to be solid and difficult to beat. When it comes to Tuesday, you bring guys like McFadden and Boyd into the equation." Scott Brown will also continue to feature prominently in Levein's thoughts. The Celtic captain, only semi-fit, was substituted in Kaunas, having collected his latest booking and appearing in danger of receiving a red card thereafter. Such troubles have haunted the permanently animated Brown at club level but Levein is unperturbed. "Scott is desperately keen to do well, he is a competitor," Levein says. "These guys are international football players; I can't control them. The law of averages says the more tackles you make, the more chance you have of being booked. I don't ever want him to lose his enthusiasm."