With a draw and a defeat from previous matches against Croatia and the Czech Republic, Burley had been hoping tonight's friendly against Northern Ireland would yield his first victory as national team boss.

A red card for Ryan McGivern should have aided Scotland's cause but it was the Irish who were unfortunate not to claim a winner at Hampden when David Healy failed to convert from the penalty spot.

The clash at Hampden was Burley's final preparatory match before their quest to qualify for South Africa in 2010 begins in earnest and he believes he has seen enough to be confident ahead of those two crucial away games.

"We have a group of players who work hard for each other and they are passionate to do well," he said.

"There are areas we can still improve on but we are going into it in good spirits.

"We have two difficult away games but hopefully we can come back with some points.

"It was good to see some fresh blood who can do you a job.

"At the moment, there are still four or five players who are borderline in terms of being fit so that is going to dictate the team.

"We have been a bit unfortunate with injuries since I took over but there is nothing you can do about that and it gives other people opportunities.

"When we know who's going to be available, that will give me a clearer mind about who us going to play."

There were debuts tonight for Kevin Thomson, Darren Barr, Christophe Berra and Kris Commons, while Michael Stewart made his first appearance in a Scotland jersey in almost six years.

And, despite the goalless stalemate, Burley declared the visit of Nigel Worthington's men a worthwhile exercise.

"We wanted the win and it didn't happen," he said.

"But it was a good workout and I was able to blood a number of new players and they all did well. Overall, I thought we passed it quite well at times.

"We knew Northern Ireland would make it difficult for us, they are a strong international side. It would have been great to win but it wasn't to be.

"We tried James McFadden and Kenny Miller up front and they maybe just lacked that little bit of cutting edge.

"When you are at home and you have a few chances and you put teams under pressure, you are looking to put the ball in the net.

"We were unfortunate a couple of times not to score so it was just that lack of cutting edge that would have won us the game.

"There is still a bit of work to be done but they worked hard and it takes time for any partnership to form.

"At home, you are looking to play with your two strikers and put people under pressure. At times I thought they did well but there is still work to be done.

"It's something we have to look at but they both worked their socks off and at times they did well.

"In the second half, we were unfortunate not to get a goal. It was a point-blank save from about two yards from McFadden and if it goes in then we have won the game and the partnership has worked.

"They are both excellent strikers and excellent players - it maybe just doesn't happen overnight."

While admitting to a few niggling doubts over his front pairing, Burley revealed the goalkeeping position is also far from set in stone.

Craig Gordon retains the gloves for now but an impressive display from Allan McGregor - who conceded and then saved a penalty - did not go unnoticed by the Scotland boss.

"There is a close call because you are talking about two top-class international goalkeepers," he said.

"I've said from day one we are fortunate to have that because they are both outstanding.

"Craig Gordon has been terrific for Scotland so we are in a very healthy position. It's healthy competition.

"At the moment, Craig is the number one but Allan has come in and done exceptionally well.

"At this precise moment Craig has not put a step wrong but he knows that Allan has 45 minutes under his belt and has shown what a top-class international goalkeeper he is as well."