By Ian Roache at St Andrews

THIERRY HENRY will be on the lookout for the new Barry Robson when Barcelona play Dundee United on Saturday.

The French ace selected the then Tangerines skipper for particular praise last summer after Robson impressed when the teams met at Tannadice.

It was Henry who grabbed the glory for Barca that night, scoring the winner after his initial penalty had been saved—the first goal for his new employers.

However, he was quick to point out there was also plenty to talk about as regards the opposition, and he expects the story to be the same in the rematch.

“I spoke about Barry Robson last year because when we played Dundee United I saw he had a lot of talent,” said Henry, chatting at Barca’s St Andrews training camp yesterday.

“He had a really good game against us, he kept the ball well and was dangerous going forward.

“It was no surprise when I heard he had signed for Celtic or when he scored against us in the Champions League in Glasgow later in the season because he has a lot of quality and he belongs on that stage.

“Scottish people think they have no good players, but last year I picked him because I saw talent there—and he was not the only one.

“I expect that when we play against United again and Hibs I will see more players who have a lot of ability.”

So now the likes of Willo Flood, Danny Swanson and Scott Robertson know they can earn some star- studded plaudits should they shine for United on Saturday.

Henry also reflected on the enthusiastic welcome Barca received at Tannadice last summer and would be delighted for it to be same again for the Spanish giants.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect the kind of reception we got at Dundee United,” added the former Arsenal legend. “It was excellent.

“It is always a great feeling when you play in Scotland, though.

“When we came to Hampden with France (for the Euro 2008 qualifier which Scotland won 1-0) I told the players who had not experienced British football before they had better expect a big atmosphere.

“In Scotland when the national anthem starts playing it is crazy and my teammates felt ‘wow’ at hearing it.

“Even though we lost at Hampden I admired the Scotland fans for the backing they gave their team.”

Henry went out of his way to be optimistic about Scotland’s chances in the forthcoming World Cup qualifying campaign, when Holland will pose the toughest of tests in Group 9.

“If Scotland hadn’t lost in Georgia then it would have been very difficult for France to qualify for Euro 2008,” he said. “It was that close.

“It was possible for you to qualify right up until the very end so with the qualification for the World Cup coming up there is no reason for Scotland to be scared of anyone.

“You have already proved you can beat the best teams in the world,” he stressed.

“We played against Scotland twice when we met in the qualifiers and you beat us twice, so there’s no doubt you have good players.

“I don’t know if Scotland would have done better (than France in Euro 2008).

“We didn’t play well and were poor this summer, we know that.

“I suppose it is easy to sit and say that you could’ve done better and got further than the team who went in your place but we will never know.

“All I know is that we didn’t play well and the teams who qualified from the groups and got to the final deserved to do so.

“Spain were deserved winners and we can’t have any argument about that.”

Henry needs things to improve both for club and country, as he readily admitted.

“The best is definitely still to come from me at Barcelona,” he declared.

“In fact, I don’t think it could’ve been worse than it was last season.

“I had to move to a new town, learn a new language and was injured when I signed.

“I made a mistake in wanting to play straight away instead of working with the fitness coach to get myself in shape.

“I am fit now and I have the desire and commitment to succeed.”