Burley's side was depleted by injury withdrawals but they fought back well from conceding an early goal, with Kenny Miller's strike levelling up before half-time.

Speaking after the 1-1 draw, Burley hailed the effort of his players.

He told Sky Sports News: "It wasn't the best start in the world, conceding the goal, but we worked hard and got back into it.

"It was very competitive so overall the players couldn't have put more effort into it."

The likes of regular captain Barry Ferguson were absent due to knocks, and Burley's team for his first competitive games is likely to be significantly stronger.

"It think there's still work to be done," said Burley.

"At times early on our wide players were pushed too far back, when we wanted them to help the striker more, but overall against an excellent side it was a good performance."

Striker Steven Fletcher, making his senior Scotland debut on his 21st birthday, lasted until half-time.

An injury meant he failed to reappear for the second 45 minutes, but by then he had created Scotland's goal with a long pass to Miller.

"You can see the boy's got quality," said Burley.

"It was a great experience for him tonight against one of the best teams in Europe.

"I'd have liked to have kept him on for a bit longer. Hopefully the injury is not too bad."

Burley could not fault the determination of his players.

"They gave it everything. We had one or two personnel missing but overall against Croatia I think a draw's not a bad result," said the former Southampton manager.

"There's plenty to work at and hopefully we can keep improving.

"Croatia are clever players. They're very clever on the ball. Overall I was very pleased with the commitment."

mfl