Scotland boss Gordon Strachan believes that his side are ready to deal with any threat that the Republic of Ireland can throw at them in their Euro 2016 qualifier.

Scotland boss Gordon Strachan has said that he is confident his side can deal with any threat posed by the Republic of Ireland in their Euro 2016 qualifier.

The Scots won the earlier meeting between the sides as Shaun Maloney scored the only goal of the game at Hampden Park, which has put Strachan's men right in the mix for qualification from Group D.

The 58-year-old is adamant that his team are prepared to battle hard at the Aviva Stadium to claim a positive result against Martin O'Neill's side.

He told reporters: "I think the last game in November was intense. I am not sure I would call it a battle. It was intense in that no-one wanted to give ground. Whether you are 5'2" or 6'3" you just didn't want to give ground. But it wasn't nasty in any way. I think we all agree with that.

"It was just intense. And I think they enjoyed it. We can get involved with them but maybe, in rugby terms, if you look at some of our players, we do not have that 'pack'. We are giving weight away in the pack.

"But I think we can deal with anything that is thrown at us. If it is a lovely football match we can deal with that. If it is going to be intense, we can deal with that. Our smaller players know now that if you are good and quick, you get used to getting up again if you get knocked down because it's part of the deal."

Scotland take on Ireland in their Euro 2016 qualifier later today.