Scotland cannot be fooled into thinking they will face a rusty Ukraine at Hampden tomorrow.
The biggest game at Hampden in years is almost upon us and I don’t believe for a second Ukraine will be anything less than 100%.
After all, this is the semi-final of a play-off for the World Cup in Qatar. If the adrenaline is not pumping and you are not fired up for this game then you should be questioning your career choice.
A trip to Wales for a game for all the marbles awaits the winner of what promises to be a titanic sporting contest at Hampden.
We’ve had some terrific results under Steve Clarke, notably the terrific win against Denmark last year to book our place in the play-offs and if we can reproduce that level of performance we have a great chance.
Ukraine have been on everybody’s lips this year due to the horrendous events happening over there following Russia’s invasion and I know the neutrals will be cheering them on this week.
My view is that FIFA should have given them a place in Qatar but they’ve forced them to play and it just happens we’re their opponents.
As a country we’ve done as much as we can to help the people of Ukraine in the last three months but there can be no room for sentiment on what is a sporting occasion on Wednesday.
We have to be a different animal, selfish and single-minded. Only one country goes through to the final on Sunday and it’s them or us.
I expect Steve will go with his tried and trusted players for this one.
O’Donnell or Patterson?
The biggest call he has to make is who to play at right back. Nathan Patterson has taken part in training but he has not played much football recently and a careful discussion with the medical and football staff at his club Everton will be needed.
It’s him or Stephen O’Donnell for the slot and O’Donnell is a player who has done brilliantly for Clarke when called upon.
We expect Ukraine to go with a 3-5-2 formation which means Oleksandr Zinchenko will be the direct threat down our right flank.
The Manchester City left back has had a terrific season with his club, winning the Premier League in England, and he will be a player Ukraine coach Oleksandr Petrakov will look to influence the game with his surging runs forward.
Do you risk Patterson or go with O’Donnell, who has been playing every week at Motherwell? On the basis he is match sharp, the Well right back gets my vote but it’s a close call.
Will former Staggie Stewart have a role to play?
Another player who has had a terrific season for his club is Sunderland’s Ross Stewart.
The former Ross County striker helped his club win promotion to the Championship and will have bounced into the training camp after the season he has had.
But it is asking a lot to displace Lyndon Dykes and Che Adams.
They have become a hugely effective partnership for Scotland and I really hope to see them paired together for tomorrow’s match.
As Craig Brown used to say to us ‘give us 70 minutes of a shift.’ That is what I expect our forwards will have to do against Ukraine.
Run themselves into the ground for as long as possible then send on someone like Stewart and ask him to do the same in the last 20 minutes.
Who knows? Stewart might even find himself emerging as an unlikely hero by firing us into Sunday’s final in Cardiff.
Give the Scott McKenna money to Dons boss Jim Goodwin
I hope Aberdeen manager Jim Goodwin receives every penny of the reported £1 million windfall the Dons have earned thanks to Scott McKenna’s promotion winning season with Nottingham Forest.
The Dons received a nice end of season pick-me-up on Sunday when McKenna helped Forest beat Huddersfield Town in the Championship play-off final at Wembley to win promotion to the Premier League.
Goodwin needs that money and more to carry out the extensive rebuild which is clearly needed at Pittodrie after a disappointing campaign.
I said last season how much I enjoy seeing new faces in Scottish football and it looks as if we’re going to have one in Albanian international Ylber Ramadani.
The defensive midfielder is not a player I know anything about but seeing the Dons think outside the box and take a risk with a player has intrigued me.
Should Ramadani complete his move to Pittodrie he will be the first of many new arrivals I’m sure.
Seeing Goodwin turn to guys he worked with at St Mirren is understandable but signing an international player is a welcome development too.
It’s early days but it looks as if an interesting summer lies ahead for Dons fans.
