Roberto Martinez reveals Cristiano Ronaldo selection decision for Scotland clash

Roberto Martinez has no concerns about starting Cristiano Ronaldo, 39, for his second away game in the space of 72 hours when Portugal face Scotland at Hampden on Tuesday.

The Al-Nassr striker scored his 133rd international goal in Saturday night's 3-1 Nations League win over Poland in Warsaw, a match he played for just over an hour.

Although Ronaldo is less than four months away from his 40th birthday, Martinez is comfortable releasing him for what will be Hampden's first outing of his illustrious career.

“I think the age of a player doesn't come into play,” Portuguese coach Martinez said. “Ronaldo doesn't work as a 39-year-old. He certainly doesn't play as a 39-year-old. I think we evaluate each player and how he feels. Cristiano has worked very well in this camp. .”

“I have no doubt that Cristiano, after 60 minutes (Saturday), can be involved in the second match. I don't know if he can start or if he can finish the match, but he can certainly be involved as he showed during the last game (at the start of the first game then in the second).”

Instead of training at Hampden on Monday, Portugal used St Mirren's ground in Paisley for their pre-match preparations, a decision arranged as Martinez knows Saints chief executive Keith Lasley from their time together in as Motherwell players in the 2001-02 season.

This led to hundreds of people flocking to the SMiSA Stadium, eager to get a glimpse of Ronaldo.

Asked about managing a group including one of football's most iconic figures, Martinez replied: “Well, obviously there are two aspects. I manage Cristiano Ronaldo who tries to work hard to help the team to win tomorrow.”

“When you come to a stadium, to a place like this, I think you get to know an iconic figure and the career of a player who is unique.”

“There is no other player with more than 200 caps at international level as an example, the number of goals he has scored, the trophies he has won.

“So I think for me it's very easy to deal with a player who can help the team win tomorrow. Everything else is something we can all appreciate because it's a unique case and I think we can all learn by being close to him.

A Portugal win would mean Scotland, with just one win in their last 15 matches, have lost five in a row for the first time in their history, but Martinez has no doubt that Steve Clarke can change things in the long term.

“Absolutely, I have no doubt,” he said. “It's a difficult press conference for me to show sympathy when tomorrow I want to win the game. But Steve Clarke is building something very special.”

“He has already built a very successful team, qualified for the European Championship, and now we feel that it is almost a new cycle. And the results will come if the performances remain at this level.”