Scotland v Wales: Scotland manager Gordon Strachan works on a plan and a shape to stop Gareth Bale Seriously. Has it ever been explained? We know it didn't go out of play but I don't think anyone has ever actually said what that goal was disallowed for. I might not be sitting here but for that. At some stage in my career I would like to have been sitting here but I would rather we had won the three points that's for sure. Now it is Strachan's turn to try to shackle Bale and he and his assistants, Mark McGhee, and Stuart McCall, have been working on options throughout the week. Asked where he thought the Tottenham man would operate, Strachan replied: "We have an idea. We have contingency plans for the whole team. If one man moves here then someone else has to move there. However, he explicitly ruled out any attempt to shackle the Welsh playmaker by primitive means. The days of Chopper Harris are gone. You don't get a name like Chopper Harris these days," he said. I just like watching good footballers and today's surfaces, rules, and everything else means that people like to see the top players in the world play and have space without being kicked out the game. I think that's better for everybody and the same rules apply to us - Shaun Maloney, Chris Burke, Robert Snodgrass - it allows them to play their football. Years ago they might have been stopped quite crudely because I think we have players in the team that can beat people and take them on. Strachan has fewer options than he would like, however, because of injuries that have compelled the absence of James Morrison, James Forrest, Danny Fox and Ross McCormack. Of that quartet Morrison will be missed most for the loss of his ability to play wide and also support the forwards. There is a question mark, too, over Charlie Adam, who is one of those who has not racked up much competitive game time in recent weeks. "That is a problem," said Strachan. I didn't think it would be until I became an international manager. It definitely affects people - that's for sure. You can tell the people who are playing regularly and are on top of their game. Nevertheless, Adam, who set up Scotland's goal in their 1-0 friendly win over Estonia in November - Strachan's first game in charge - seems likely to start, perhaps alongside Charlie Mulgrew of Celtic, in the absence of Scott Brown, who played in front of the back four against the Estonians. Gary Caldwell has performed the role, but the manager ruled out the possibility explicitly. "No, he is not doing that," said Strachan. I've had a shape in mind for a long time and now I've settled on my team. I know which way we want to defend. We did the same coaching morning and afternoon but just with a different group of players. That way everyone knows what it's going to be like. The style we play should suit everyone in the squad. Earlier this week, the former Welsh international, Mickey Thomas, decried this Scottish squad as the worst ever. Strachan, though, cited history - or rather the lack of it - as a reason to ignore the taunt. "I just think it's hilarious," said Strachan. I think Mickey would have to be 150 years old to have seen every Scotland game in the last 130 years. I'd need to look at his passport and if it says he's 150 years old, I think Mickey is the only man who could get a passport with that on it!