Vogts admits Scotland cannot win group

The Scotland coach, Berti Vogts, has written off his team's chances of automatic qualification for the 2004 European Championships. Vogts, who succeeded Craig Brown in March, insists that the Group Five leaders and World Cup runners-up, Germany, are too strong for his side, who lie in second place.

The two sides meet in June and September in games which could determine who will go to the finals in Portugal directly, and Vogts believes the top place in the group is out of his team's reach.

He told the Saarbrücker Zeitung: "We cannot beat the second best team in the world. Scotland only has five million residents. That is like taking part in a duel when you have no ammunition in your gun."

However, Vogts remains hopeful of leading the Scots to qualification for the next World Cup. "It would be something great if we could qualify for the World Cup 2006 in Germany," he added. "The World Cup in your own country as coach of a foreign team. That would be an unbelievable feeling."

The 10 group winners automatically qualify for Euro 2004, with the 10 second-placed sides playing off to decide the next five qualifiers to join hosts Portugal at the 16-team tournament.

Scotland's First Minister, Jack McConnell, has called on Old Firm rivals Rangers and Celtic to ban fans for life for singing sectarian songs.

McConnell made the appeal just days before the clubs meet at Ibrox on Saturday as he believes a tough stance is needed to finally stamp out the bigotry which threatens to poison the game in Scotland.

Celtic make the short journey to the south side of Glasgow for the confrontation knowing that the stakes are as high as ever with just one point separating the two sides in the Premier League. And McConnell insists now is the ideal time for the clubs to show that they will not tolerate the religious hatred which infiltrates the stands at both Ibrox and Parkhead.

He said: "We need to be seen to be taking a lead in setting the standard for what are acceptable songs inside a stadium. The dividing line is clear. Where it turns into religious hatred or supporting terrorism it is simply unacceptable. Where ringleaders instigate this kind of behaviour they should be ejected from the stadium and banned for life."

McConnell insists he is not trying to wipe out the traditions of Rangers and Celtic, but he is adamant the line must be drawn when support for the clubs turns to sectarianism.

The politician added: "I would never suggest that either at Celtic Park, with the Irish Tricolour, or at Ibrox, with the Union flag, that people should turn their backs on those fantastic traditions that both clubs have.

"But taking that one step too far, using paramilitary symbols, singing songs of hatred, I think that's a step too far for Scotland and I want to see the clubs stamping it out."