Craig Gordon admits Scotland will once again have to do it the hard way after talismanic forward James McFadden was ruled out of their must-win World Cup qualifier against Holland.

McFadden helped keep Scotland's hopes of a play-off spot alive with a superb solo effort in a crucial 2-0 win over Macedonia following Scott Brown's opener, but then picked up a yellow card which rules him out of the visit of the Group Nine winners.

"It's obviously a big loss for us but we said at the start of the week that it was going to be a squad game and that everybody was going to have to be behind each other," said goalkeeper Gordon, who was in inspirational form to deny Goran Pandev on three occasions. "It just means that somebody else will come in now and get an opportunity."

He added: "We would love to have him available but Scotland never do it the easy way and it's par for the course.

"We move on and the rest of the boys stick together. I'm sure James will be behind us and we look forward to the game."

Pressure on manager George Burley had intensified after last month's 4-0 thrashing in Norway left Scotland's World Cup hopes hanging by a thread and he headed into the clash knowing the result could determine his future as national team manager.

However, Gordon says the win was not just about the manager, insisting: "It's for the whole nation, it's for everybody.

"Everybody is desperate to get to a World Cup and the players are desperate to test themselves at that level. It's the pinnacle of anybody's career to go to a World Cup and we are desperate to get there."