Scotland defender Liam Palmer feels his side have kept their momentum intact ahead of next month’s Euro 2021 qualifying play-off against Israel.
The Scots took four points from their Nations League double header, however their performances drew criticism following an underwhelming 1-1 home draw with Israel and an unconvincing 2-1 win over a patchwork Czech Republic side.
The Scots will host Israel once again in their qualifying play-off semi final on October 8, in an attempt to set up a decisive fixture against Norway or Serbia in which a place at next summer’s finals will be up for grabs.
Sheffield Wednesday’s Palmer insists Steve Clarke’s men must take an upbeat approach into their crucial one-off tie next month.
He said: “We’re top of the Nations League group after two games – that’s what we set out to do.
“We need to keep that ball rolling. We’ve got it all in front of us still.
“We have the qualification game for Euro 2021 as it is now, so we are looking forward to that.
“We end the camp on a positive again, we’re unbeaten in another two games to stretch that run to five now with four wins.
“That’s what we are going to focus on going into next month.
“We will all go back to our clubs and look to kick on there with an eye towards next month.”
Palmer felt the Scots showed strong resilience to come from behind against the Czechs, with the 28-year-old adding: “Coming into it we knew they would be right at it from the first whistle, and that’s how it was.
“Some of them had an opportunity to shine, and they may never play for their country again.
“Especially after going a goal down early doors, we knew we would have to dig in and show that reaction to adversity the manager always speaks about. That’s something we like to focus on, we have shown that in recent wins.
“It’s definitely a positive to take into the next camp.”
Palmer, who won his sixth cap against the Czechs, was pleased to provide the assist for Lyndon Dykes to net his first Scotland goal.
He added: “It was hard work for Lyndon in the first game, and he put in a real shift but nothing really fell for him.
“I’m delighted for him to get off the mark and I’m delighted with the assist. I was just trying to get forward as the manager said.”
