Strachan insists James McCarthy and Aiden McGeady are no loss to Scotland

The Scottish-born duo opted to represent the land of their grandparents but Strachan feels that the players he has at his disposal are more than adequate to deal with the challenge of Ireland when the teams meet in their crunch Euro 2016 qualifier in Celtic Park next month.

He said: “They’re two terrific players who are at a great club. They’re lads who have got the most out of their ability.

“Those two have determined their own futures. Aiden did a great job for me at Celtic, he could win games. McCarthy is a lad I've also known for a long time.

“It would be great to have them but they’re not there, so that’s it. And if they’ve left spaces in our squad, I think we’ve filled them up nicely.”

McCarthy already stoked the rivalry with a message of support to his Irish team-mates on Twitter following Ireland's incredible draw against Germany.

The Boys in Green looked to be heading for defeat in Gelsenkirchen until John O'Shea marked his 100th appearance for Ireland with an equaliser in stoppage time.

Ireland now lie in second place behind Poland in what is turning out to be the tightest of groups and the next fixture, against Scotland next month, will have a big influence on the outcome of the group.

Everton midfielder McCarthy missed the match through injury, but used his Twitter account yesterday to urge support ahead of the game at Celtic Park.

"What a result last night from the boys @FAIreland Congrats to sheazy on the 100th cap. #BringOnTheScots," he posted.

His message almost inevitably came in for abuse.

One troll tweeted: "u are scottish ya knob."

Another wrote: "u are Scottish ya f*n traitor ! Im a Celtic fan but u and mcgeady are absolute knobs.il be at Celtic park! Karma!"

Ireland are currently three points ahead of both Scotland and Germany ahead of the showdown with the Tartan Army on November 14.