I want to silence the Tartan Army at Hampden, says Macedonia boss Mirsad Jonuz

Jun 7 2009 Gavin Berry

ROOKIE boss Mirsad Jonuz helped silence 120,000 hostile Iranians in his first away game in charge of Macedonia - and now he wants to stifle the Hampden roar.

Jonuz was caretaker gaffer four years ago and masterminded a 2-1 win at Tehran's imposing Azadi Stadium.

Now he intends shutting up the Tartan Army when he takes Macedonia to Glasgow in September for their World Cup qualifier.

Spectacular Jonuz is back in charge of the national side again after a stint with the Under-21s and earned a point in his first home game, a 0-0 draw with Norway last night.

And he's not fazed by the prospect of playing the Scots on their own turf.

He said: "Hampden is a great stadium but it wouldn't be the biggest stage I've managed on. I was caretaker manager for a friendly tournament in Iran in 2005.

"Iran had 120,000 fans in the stadium for our match and it was an intimidating occasion. The atmosphere was spectacular - once you've experienced that nothing can faze you.

"We won so know how to silence big crowds and if we win at Hampden it will be the biggest result in our national team's history." Scotland will want revenge after losing 1-0 in Skopje last September but Jonuz laughed off claims the heat caused George Burley's men to crumble.

He said: "Scotland said the heat was a problem. Yes, conditions were difficult but it's not an excuse." Jonuz knows Macedonia are in with a shout of the play-offs.

He said: "We have a huge match against Iceland at home on Wednesday and both teams have to try and win that match in Skopje to stay in the hunt.

"We want to arrive in Glasgow in September still in with a chance of finishing second and if that's the case it could be a great occasion."