Burley admits his new-look attacking partnership of Birmingham's James McFadden and Rangers striker Kenny Miller is a work in progress.

"James and Kenny are both excellent strikers and they worked their socks off but a partnership is not something that happens overnight," said Burley. "We wanted to win the game and we didn't but it wasn't for the want of trying.

"We were lacking a cutting edge. When you put teams under pressure, you need to put the ball into the net. Overall, I thought the team worked very well."

Burley gave debuts to Kevin Thomson, of Rangers, Darren Barr, the Falkirk defender, and Kris Commons, the Derby County winger, on an experimental evening that also included Michael Stewart's return after a five-year hiatus. Scott Brown, though, was the stand-out performer.

"People keep asking me about Scott Brown and I keep saying he is a top international player," Burley enthused afterwards. "I thought he was the best player on the park."