THE embarrassing blunder made by Rab Douglas in Sunday's Old Firm meeting has presented Walter Smith with a significant source of anxiety ahead of his daunting debut as Scotland manager.

Smith trumpeted the fact he wanted Douglas as his No.1 goalkeeper and had seemed on relatively safe ground with the player restored to the Celtic first team ahead of David Marshall and Magnus Hedman.

Now, after scooping a routine shot from Gregory Vignal into Celtic's net, his position is in serious jeopardy.

If Douglas is withdrawn from the firing line by Martin O'Neill, can he really be Scotland's last line of defence against Italy at the San Siro in 32 days' time? Craig Gordon and Neil Sullivan are the two current contenders to replace the former Dundee man and Smith is likely to seek counsel from various sources ahead of the World Cup qualifier.

Alan Hodgkinson was the man Andy Roxburgh and Craig Brown relied upon before he was acrimoniously removed from the Scotland set-up by Berti Vogts, just as Douglas prepared for his international debut against Nigeria in 2002.

The goalkeeping coach, whom Andy Goram credits for his success with Rangers and Scotland and who has also worked with Everton, Manchester United and Coventry City, is disheartened by what he sees as a decline in standards ever since, leading to the current hunt for a reliable No.1.

He expressed sympathy for Douglas, but insisted the level of performance in an Old Firm game is the best comparison for an international.

"With Celtic or Rangers, you could play six games and have six clean sheets against the rest of the league, " Hodgkinson said. "As soon as it comes to the Old Firm meeting, that's an international game. It has the same importance and pressure.

"You have to win and get the clean sheet. You need the same level of performance as you would in an international;

that's the standard. If you can't raise to that standard for internationals, you are never going to win a match. Martin O'Neill has a decision to make, as any manager would, because the Old Firm game is the only one that really counts in Scotland."

The high-proflie nature of the mistake can only increase the psychological damage on Douglas.

"It's about concentration and, unfortunately for Rab, he was caught out, " Hodgkinson added. "It's soul-destroying if it happens in a derby, but even more so for the supporters."

Hodgkinson professed too much respect for Smith to tell him which goalkeeper to select against Italy, but admitted he is wary of relying on anyone not playing for their club.

"Walter has to see who is best prepared and at 100-per cent capacity, " he said. "When Rab lost six against Holland, he wasn't even in the Celtic team but was selected to go into that game for Scotland without enough match practice.

"Walter faces a similar problem if Celtic now decide to drop Rab. When I left the Scotland set-up, Rab was just about to make his debut, so I was never able to prepare him for an international. I was looking forward to projecting him on to that level, but it wasn't to be.

"The goalkeepers who worked with me went back and kept clean sheets at club level.

That doesn't happen any more which is a great shame. There is some good talent in Scotland, but they don't have the right preparation. Not only at full level, but also the Under-21s.

It needs to improve 100-per cent."

Hodgkinson worked closely with Sullivan during Brown's era as Scotland manager and is impressed by the veteran's form for Leeds United. "Neil's doing very well, " he said. "One of the biggest mistakes Craig Brown made was playing Jim Leighton when we went to France for the World Cup [in 1998], but there were reasons why he did that.

"Sullivan was the top goalie after Andy Goram left and, if he'd played in France, Scotland would have qualified from their group without one speck of doubt. He has great hands and technical ability although he's maybe not as mobile as once.

"He's the sort of guy young goalies can learn from and it's good he's in the squad. He's got the experience to play in Italy, but that's up to Walter. I want him to do superbly well, I really do, and it has been crying out for a manager of his quality."

Hodgkinson, a former England internationalist, is clearly still upset at the manner in which, after 15 years of service to Scotland, he was axed by Vogts in April 2002.

"I only worked once with Berti Vogts before he changed it, " he said. "Vogts came up with some rubbish in the papers that I had told Rab Douglas he was going to play the second half of the game in France that March [which Scotland lost 5-0].

"I was disgusted and it was an insult. I never did that. I wrote Vogts a letter but he hasn't had the decency to reply.

Unfortunately, since Vogts came in and they departed from my path, there have been about 50 goals conceded in two years. That's not good enough by far."