ITHINK Scotland have been handed a very difficult draw for the 2012 European championship qualifiers.
By the time we face Spain, I expect them to be world champions or, at the very least, beaten semi-finalists who lost to the winners of the World Cup in South Africa.
Lithuania are similar in style and ability to Macedonia, who we faced in the previous World Cup qualifying campaign.
The fixtures against eastern European countries are ones in which we should be able to take full points – but it all depends on what happens on the day.
With all due respect, Liechtenstein will be regarded as the whipping boys of the group and anything less than maximum points from our games with them would be disastrous.
That leaves the Czech Republic as our main rivals for second place.
Unless Craig Levein can emulate against Spain what Walter Smith and then Alex McLeish achieved in beating France, you have to assume we are going to struggle against the Spaniards.
It is not quite a group of death, but the Czechs worry me.
Historically, they have boasted decent players who are with some of the best clubs in Europe – and that tradition continues.
For starters, you have Petr Cech at Chelsea and Tomas Rosicky at Arsenal. If you move into Europe, you have Zdenek Grygera, of Juventus, and Milan Baros at Galatasaray.
Add in players operating at Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburg and Anderlect and you can see why I believe reports of their demise are greatly exaggerated.
They are all good players and there are always good young players coming through.
With everyone fit, we will fancy our chances but it all depends on whether we have a full squad to choose from.
There was a lot made of the fixtures in the last campaign, especially when we lost away to Macedonia in the first game of the campaign, and I hope Gordon Smith and Levein fight their corner when the nations meet in Spain on Friday week to try to reach an agreement on when the games will be played.
If I were the manager, I would be pushing to play the games in the order of the seeding of the group. Start with Liechtenstein and Lithuania, then play the Czech Republic at Hampden and head out to Spain by the halfway point.
If possible, repeat the run for the second round of games and finish with Spain at the national stadium, hoping both teams are safe and there is nothing at stake.
The easier the games, the better for Levein who, it is worth remembering, is taking on a role of this magnitude for the first time.
He needs to build momentum as quickly as he can and leaving Spain as late in the campaign as possible is his best chance.