Croatia v Scotland: manager Gordon Strachan delighted to give Steve Hammell his just rewards It was wonderful to hear his reaction. I said, 'Have you got a holiday?' He said, 'It doesn't matter - I'm going to cancel it anyway.' And to be fair, we've had a few like that. [Craig] Conway - he was going to Dubai for a couple of weeks - and that's not shabby - but he said, 'I'll just cancel it.' So it's refreshing. I'm looking forward to getting together with this group. I mentioned his [Hammell's] name to Stuart at the last squad. Stuart thought, 'Well, that's maybe my influence.' He didn't actually say that but I could tell that's what he was thinking. And I said to him, 'No, no. Even when he played against Celtic, I thought - he's no" bad.' Stevie's not got everything. He's not the quickest or the tallest but he's up for the challenge. You never see him shirking anything when he goes to Celtic Park on big nights and his use of the ball is good - and it's nice to give good news to people. Strachan has also been impressed with the form of Leigh Griffiths - Hibs" top scorer and the Scottish Football Writers" Association player of the year - although the striker limped off suffering from cramp before the end of last week's William Hill Scottish Cup final defeat by Celtic at Hampden Park. "He does his own thing," said Strachan of the player, who is now back woth Wolves after the end of his loan spell at Easter Road. I phoned him and said, 'Have you spoken to the physios?'  Are you fit? Yes! Do you know where we're meeting? Looking forward to it, though. See you there then? Smashing! And that was it. He's never checked with anyone. He just thinks he's fine. I think the longer Leigh goes on in the game, the more he realises what he's good at. You see him backing into people and making it difficult for them to head the ball. He's got an inner strength from what I've seen so far. He was in a bad way after the Scottish Cup final. He was angry and there's nothing wrong with that. He can be a pain in the backside to people. Leigh has that wee devil about him. He wants to play regularly at a good level, that's for sure. He thinks, 'I'm not going to sit at a club and be a substitute.' Charlie Adam was the same when he went to Blackpool. At Rangers, Charlie was on and off. I think these kids have got to go somewhere and make a career as a footballer - not just being a footballer off the field but a footballer on the field. So I don't see Leigh going anywhere he's not going to get a game.