Fletcher thrives on Scotland captaincy

Darren Fletcher admits he is aiming to lead Scotland to a major championship finals after becoming the national side's youngest post-war captain against Estonia on Thursday.

The Manchester United player was given the armband in the absence of Barry Ferguson and Christian Dailly in the narrow 1-0 win at the Lillekula stadium. The 20-year-old led by example in a team containing three new caps and showed why the United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, rates him so highly.

The Hearts defender Steven Pressley will take the captaincy for tomorrow's friendly against Trinidad and Tobago at Hiberian's Easter Road but Fletcher hopes he can repeat the experience. He said: "Who knows what might happen in the future, maybe I'll be captain when Scotland get through to World Cup finals and European Championship.

"It gave me such a boost going out there against Estonia and I felt I could run all night," Fletcher added. "It was important to get a win and it was also great to be skipper. If we had not won I would have been on a bit of a downer but to get that win and to perform as well as the team did was special."

The Edinburgh-born midfielder insists he has no qualms about relinquishing the armband. "I know Barry is going to come back and I know Christian is going to be there. But it has given me more confidence having captained Scotland at such a young age. It was not just the result of Thursday's game that was important, it was also the performance.

"A win is very important to us on Sunday but if we were to win by three or four goals everyone would be in high spirits and looking forward to next season.

"Hopefully there will be a big crowd on Sunday and to get two wins back-to-back at the end of the season is very important."