Burley sat in Cardiff yesterday and talked of his “love” of football, the pleasure he derives from taking training sessions, and of how he had enjoyed “every minute” of his “great job” in charge of Scotland.

Outside there was drizzle, slate grey skies, and a city far more interested in last night’s Welsh rugby international against Samoa than in today’s football match against Scotland. Burley was unnaturally chirpy for a man required to go to Wales for five drab days in November. The sun hadn’t been seen since the SFA party arrived here on Tuesday.

The weather appeared appropriately low key for the first of perhaps four friendlies Scotland will play before the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign begins next September. By then 12 months will have elapsed between competitive games, an enormous amount of time in which Burley must attempt to keep the international side relevant, fresh and interesting to supporters and perhaps even to the players themselves.

He seemed aware of that as he talked up the significance of this afternoon’s match, and recoiled at the suggestion that it might be tough for him to keep his spirits up during a year between fixtures that genuinely matter.

“It’s not tough, it’s a great job,” he insisted. “I’m enjoying every minute of it. It’s a challenge. If I didn’t see the optimism and the passion that I did in the last couple of games in the World Cup I would have been on a big low. But I feel that, yeah, I’m enjoying my squad, I’m enjoying being with my players. I love being involved. I love football, I love being with players, being out on the training field. I look forward to all that.”

Even a friendly encounter against a young Welsh side will apparently quicken Burley’s pulse. “I have never written a friendly off. In international football you have so few games so I don’t see how you can ever write them off,” he said. 
“Compared to club level where you might have 60 games, in international football you might have eight or nine in a year. The only way you’re going to get better is to work on things. Every game is important to build that.”

Scotland’s final match of 2009 will see Burley attempting to secure only the fourth win from 14 matches in charge. There have been five winless friendlies so far. Darren Fletcher, James McFadden, Kenny Miller, Gary Caldwell, Stephen McManus and David Marshall will start while Danny Fox, the Celtic defender, is set to make his debut from the beginning, although his rival for the left-back spot, Lee Wallace, will also appear for part of the match.

“I haven’t seen Danny in my team so it will be a case of having a look at him,” Burley said. “I was impressed with how they trained yesterday. One or two showed me they are desperate to be in the starting line-up. Players aren’t taking things for granted and thinking ‘I’m an automatic pick’. That’s what you need. Every team needs competition, it needs to have players looking over their shoulder. I think we have more of that now.”

A cynic might suggest that Caldwell and McManus have often looked over their shoulders recently to watch an opposing striker score against Celtic. The pair have had a difficult start to the season at club level although Burley’s faith in them was rewarded with a generally solid performance in last month’s 2-0 defeat in Japan, albeit Caldwell was in midfield for that one. The manager worked closely with his defenders at training on Wednesday.

“You’re talking about two very strong characters. They have been there and done it. If you went to war, went in the trenches, you would bring those two with you.”

War? The trenches? Maybe Burley’s right: some things are much less appealing than a November friendly in Wales.