"It's a big headache for me. I will probably have to play myself," quipped Blokhin, a former star striker for the Soviet Union who was awarded the European Ballon d'Or in 1975.

Ukraine will be without Chelsea striker Andrei Shevchenko, who is sidelined for at least a month after undergoing surgery for a groin injury.

The absence of Dynamo Kiev forwards Sergei Rebrov and Artem Milevsky, both still struggling with injuries, along with midfielder Andrei Husin, still out with a knee injury, are further setbacks for Ukraine.

"We have three key players missing. And our main striker Andrei Voronin will have been without match practice for over two weeks since the end of the German league season," Blokhin said.

Other players, too, were lacking in match practice, he said.

He specifically named Spartak Moscow midfielder Maxim Kalinichenko and Shakhtar Donetsk forwards Alexei Bielik and Andrei Vorobei, all of whom lost their places in their side's starting line-ups.

"I just do not understand what is happening to those players. Shakhtar's defenders Dmitry Chigrinsky and Alexander Kucher also failed to win their places in the starting line-up. And this is a very worrying factor."

Despite his worries about injuries, however, Blokhin was generally confident about the chances for his group-leading team.

"I cannot understand why the press is making such a fuss ahead of this match," Blokhin said. "This game is obviously important for us but definitely not more than any other match in our group."

Ukraine's head coach added that he would be happy to earn points in Paris but would not consider leaving his post even if his side were thrashed.

"Even if we lose 7-0 I will not resign," Blokhin said. "We have a set of very important matches ahead. The match in Paris will not decide the group winner."

Ukraine, Scotland and France now share the lead in the 2008 European championship qualifying Group B. Ukraine and France have collected 12 points from five matches, while Scotland have played six games.