THEY differ in ages and in inclinations, but they share a common ambition and, tonight, David Weir and Stephen McManus will attempt to drive Scotland towards the finals of the European Championship.

The Old Firm pairing had nervous moments on Saturday, but they did manage to shore the defence that allowed the Scots to beat Georgia by 2-1.

The result left our mob at the top of Group B of the qualifying process and permitted hope that the national team might qualify for the finals of a major tournament for the first time since the World Cup in France in 1998.

Essentially, Weir and McManus do not have a lot in common. The Rangers centre-half is 36 years of age, a steady and composed footballer who has earned 53 caps to date for his country.

McManus is 12 years his junior and appeared for just the second time at senior level on Saturday. Of course, they also have to travel the great divide of the conflicts between the two Glasgow clubs. And yet they do not have a problem on this issue.

The senior member of the partnership, Weir, says of McManus: "He has the quality to play at this level. During the Georgia game he was talking me through how we should play, which I found quite funny.

"He's a smashing lad and a guy with a big future. Through the years, I have played alongside many outstanding centre-backs, but Stephen ranks alongside them."

McManus is equally complimentary. He says of Weir: "He is a solid man as well as a solid footballer and he helped me enormously when we played together at the weekend.

"David is not a guy who boasts about his achievements. He simply gets on with his game and it is a pleasure to play alongside him. I don't know if the manager will use us tonight against Italy, because Steven Pressley is now available and, of course, he has terrific experience at this level.

He added: "But if David and I are chosen I don't think we will have any problems - other than having to face one of the best attacks in football.

"I thought we were decent at the weekend and we struck up an excellent relationship in terms of the technical areas of our game.

"Mind you, with no disrespect to the likes of Shota Arveladze, Italy are the world champions and can produce the likes of Alessandro Del Piero and Luca Toni. They're quite formidable."

For his part, Weir is just delighted to be involved. He reckoned his time had ended when he fell out with previous manager Berti Vogts and determined he would never make himself available again.

At that stage he played for Everton under Walter Smith, who reintroduced him. Even now Smith does not know why Weir decided to quit.

An extremely private man, Weir simply refuses to discuss this issue. But he did say: "Walter is a guy I have great respect for and, having worked for him at Everton, it was not a problem to return to the national set-up. I have enjoyed it thoroughly.

"Let's face it, at this stage in my career, at my age, it doesn't get better than playing against the world champions. I've got to say I never thought I'd be in this position, but I'm looking forward to it.

"We have a chance to continue the progress we've made under Walter and, now, Alex. It's going to be difficult, but there is a sense of self-belief within this squad.

"We top the table and we are half way through the qualification process - so why shouldn't we travel all the way and make it to Switzerland and Austria?"

Weir's sense of direction seems to have expanded throughout the Scotland squad.

McManus is clearly appreciative of the contribution and the embrace of experience and, just maybe, this unlikely partnership could see off the threat of the best national team in the world tonight. If so, the relationship, already fostered, will grow. Need to know

Italy have a 100% record from six matches played in Bari: Italy 3, Czechoslovakia 1 Friendly, December 14, 1947 Italy 1 Belgium 0 Friendly, January 16, 1955 Italy 3 Greece 0 Friendly, October 5, 1983 Italy 4 USSR 1 Friendly, February 20, 1988 Italy 2 England 1 World Cup, July 7, 1990 Italy 3 Ukraine 1 Euro qualifier, November 11, 1995