Scotland boss Alex McLeish admits Derby County striker Steven Howard has played his way into World Cup reckoning after his performance for Scotland B this week.

Eck said: "One of his strengths is getting on the end of crosses, but we hardly got a cross in the box all night. Fair play to the Irish, they did well. But the one cross we did put in, he scores. That's his strength and gives us food for thought. Stevie is more of the out-and-out target man we've seen in the past. Having seen him and worked with him we'll now keep monitoring him over the next few months. If there's another opportunity, then we can have a further look."