If Scotland manager Gordon Strachan is feeling the pressure as he enters what could be his final two games in charge of the national team then he was hiding it well yesterday.
With a mere four points gained from their opening four games, Scotland’s World Cup qualifying campaign for next year’s showpiece in Russia already looks to be destined for failure.
Only a victory against Slovenia at Hampden on Sunday would keep alive any slight glimmer of hope of reaching a first major tournament since Craig Brown led the national team to the 1998 World Cup in France.
Strachan admitted Sunday’s game is a “must-win” but before that his team will take on Canada in a friendly at Easter Road tomorrow evening.
Given the national team’s recent fortunes, it is little surprise the match has failed to capture the imagination of the Tartan Army, with reports that only 5,000 tickets have been sold for the encounter against the team ranked 117th in the world.
The friendly will provide the warm-up to Sunday’s qualifier against Slovenia where anything other than a victory would prompt fresh questions over Strachan’s future in charge of the national team.
Strachan, whose side was beaten 3-0 by both England and Slovakia on its most recent outings, has no recognised right back in his squad, with Hearts’ Callum Paterson out injured and Aston Villa’s Alan Hutton recently retired.
Attacking midfielder Ikechi Anya could be asked to fill the void or one of Strachan’s three left backs – Kieran Tierney, Andrew Robertson and Lee Wallace – may switch flanks for the qualifier.
But the manager appeared unperturbed about going into possibly his last match in charge of the national team with a selection dilemma.
He said: “Is right back a worry? Not really. There are a few options and I trust the people in the squad. It’s not my number one concern.
“What is? Getting enough tickets for my kids and the logistics of getting them into Hampden on time on Sunday.
“Apart from that, I’m quite relaxed. I am really looking forward to it.
“You couldn’t say we played badly in the England game. We lost to three headers from ridiculous distances but our goalkeeper never had a save to make apart from those.
“That was down to hard work and restricting their opportunities.
“The game changed in two minutes. I take that on board. I look back at Lithuania and it wasn’t very good. Slovakia, we could have done better but there were a lot of things we did do.
“So, I’m all right. I am looking forward to this game.”
While the interest of the general public in tomorrow night’s friendly with Canada appears limited, Strachan believes the match will be vital in helping get some of his ring-rusty squad members match fit following limited involvement at club level.
He said: “I’m trying to get a shape that can affect Canada but will also give players like Steven Naismith, Chris Martin, Ikechi Anya and Steven Fletcher – guys who have not had a lot of game time – some match action. I want to know how fit they are.
“We can all take their heart rates, body fat and all the rest of it. But you need to see people in games.
“We’ve had people like Alan Hutton, who didn’t play much for his club for a spell, then came in and did very well for us every time.
“But we’ve also had other guys who have done the same as Alan, but come in and really found it a struggle. It’s not every player who can step in without much club football and perform for the national team.
“I am glad we have the game because look at the strikers. Of the five we’ve picked (Jordan Rhodes, Leigh Griffiths, Naismith, Fletcher and Martin), only one has started over the last couple of weekends.
“That’s a bit disappointing for them – and for us. Because that striking business, it’s like putting at golf.
“You can get to a certain stage with your game but playing regularly is what makes you able to make that putt.
“It’s the same with the finishing for strikers. You need that clinical edge.”
