Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron has insisted there are “no long shots” on the list of seats his party is targeting in Scotland at the general election.
He also suggested the SNP had peaked in 2015, arguing the nationalists had “lost some of their lustre”.
And he accused Nicola Sturgeon of using Brexit for partisan advantage.
In an interview with the Press and Journal, Mr Farron spoke about his party’s chances north of the border on June 8.
The Liberal Democrats were previously dominant across the Highlands and in parts of the north east, but they were all but wiped out by the SNP in 2015.
In 2010, the party won 11 seats in Scotland, but it was reduced to a single MP – Alistair Carmichael – five years later.
This time, East Dunbartonshire is the top target followed by Edinburgh West; North East Fife; Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross and then Ross, Skye and Lochaber.
Mr Farron, who was confronted by a voter angry at his Brexit stance on the campaign trail yesterday, said: “In Scotland certainly we are, very, very, very hopeful of making progress, achieving votes, gaining new seats.
“I won’t put a number of it … but there are no long shots on the target list. They are absolutely do-able.”
He described the Conservatives and SNP as “competing to provide the most disastrous option” in their pursuit of a hard Brexit and independence, putting the Lib Dems in a “unique position” in Scotland.
Asked about the SNP’s prospects, he added: “I think there’s a sense the SNP’s peak may well have been 2015.”
He also claimed the SNP was using the Brexit vote “as just another opportunity to try and break up the UK” that was “very transparent to people”.
“I see a polarisation in Scotland and think the SNP look to have lost some of their lustre, but we must write no obituaries at this stage,” he said.
A spokesman for the SNP said only it could provide a “strong voice” for Scotland in Westminster and stand up to the Tories.
He added: “Only a vote for the SNP will ensure Theresa May is kept in check as the UK Government negotiates Brexit.”
Andrew Bowie, the Tory candidate in West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, said the Lib Dems could not be taken seriously in Scotland.
He added: “For unionist voters in the north-east and the Highlands, it is already abundantly clear that only the Scottish Conservatives can take on and beat the SNP.”
