Scotland assistant manager Mark McGhee has warned his players to be on guard against a Republic of Ireland late show.
Scotland can take a significant stride towards qualification for the finals of Euro 2016 with a victory against Martin O’Neill’s team at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday.
Ending the long wait for a return to the upper echelons of international football will challenge every strength in the Scotland squad. And former Aberdeen manager McGhee, pictured, reckons O’Neill’s players have already shown their determination with late goals which secured 1-1 draws against Poland and Germany and a 2-1 win against Georgia.
Scotland defeated Ireland 1-0 at Parkhead last November in a fast and furious encounter and McGhee expects a similar challenge.
Ireland are under immense pressure to deliver a result, but McGhee is confident Gordon Strachan’s men can handle the intensity of the fixture.
He said: “The important thing for both teams is to get the first goal. But what the Ireland supporters have seen is the late goals their team is capable of getting.
“Their supporters must be learning to be patient because they know if they wait long enough then something might come. They have done it often enough now – against Germany, Poland and Georgia.
“No matter how the game starts for us, the players know they are going to have to be on their mettle until the 95th minute if needs be because we have seen Ireland can come back even at the late stages in games.”
The Parkhead encounter was a tear-up between familiar foes and McGhee expects the same again on Saturday. And he had no fear about ratcheting up the levels of expectation. He added: “You can’t build this game up enough. In what we have experienced as coaches coming into the job, this is the biggest game we’ve had. But the next one after that will become the biggest one and the one after that will be bigger still. So build this up as much as you like. We recognise the importance of it to everyone. We relish this challenge and we believe we can go there and win.”
With so much at stake, McGhee is not worried about the occasion getting to the players.
He said: “I don’t think nerves will come into this at all. These are players who play in the Premier League, the Championship and Champions League every season.
“They have played in big games with big atmospheres. They relish it and thrive on it. Far from being nervous I think they will all say, ‘Bring it on’.
“There was an advantage for us in being at home in the last game because of the help we got from the crowd at Parkhead and the atmosphere. Ireland might be looking at it the same way as we did so I wouldn’t say it’s a great thing that we are away from home. It will be tough but we will handle it.”