Gary McAllister's improbable return to international football, to captain Scotland against Bosnia in the Euro 2000 qualifier at Ibrox on Saturday, may prove a bitter-sweet experience.

A sense of triumph is likely to settle on the Coventry City midfielder because of his victory over the career-threatening cruciate ligament damage which last summer denied him his greatest ambition, to play in a World Cup finals.

But he may also encounter the hostility which some sections of the Scottish support reserve for him. This largely unjustified vilification took a wicked form last year when fans sent him hate mail and called newspaper and radio hotlines to say they would celebrate his absence from France 98 because the team would be better without him.

"Of course that kind of criticism hurts, and I did receive some letters which were upsetting, although I don't want to go into details," the 34-year-old said. "The best response to that kind of nonsense is not to respond, except through what you do on the field."