Andy Robertson is confident the current Scotland team will only flourish further after ending their major tournament hoodoo.
Scotland will take part in their first major finals for 23 years this summer, having qualified for Euro 2020 with a penalty shoot-out victory over Serbia in the play-off final in November.
Steve Clarke’s men begin their efforts to reach the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar tonight, when they host Austria in their first game of the Group F qualifying section.
Skipper Robertson has seen the impact of failed campaigns in previous years, and he hopes a burden has now been lifted from the shoulders of the present pool of players.
Robertson said: “I’ve been involved with Scotland seven or eight years now and you can see players retiring having failed to qualify for a major tournament.
“I could see how much it was hurting these lads, knowing they were coming to the end and not being able to tick that box.
“A lot of us have been able to tick it quite early on into our Scotland career.
“Beating Israel and Serbia in the play-offs was a huge step for this nation, being able to show we can qualify for tournaments again.
“I know a lot of the Tartan Army thought it was never going to happen again.
“You get that feeling when you get so close, but still so far, in so many occasions.
“Then, finally, we took that last step.
“Now it’s about building on that, it’s about trying to create a team and a squad and a generation, and the nation becomes used to qualifying for tournaments.
“That’s certainly our motivation.”
Clarke’s options have been enhanced by the addition of Southampton striker Che Adams and Hibernian forward Kevin Nisbet, who will both be seeking their first cap against Austria tonight.
Liverpool defender Robertson feels the constant improvements to the squad can only bode well for the future, and he added: “We had a big overhaul under the previous manager and we seem to have got a kind of nucleus again.
“The manager is calling up quality.
“I was looking at the two teams we had in training and there’s quality all over the pitch in both teams.
“That’s where the squad’s so competitive – you see the boys who have been left out.
“Maybe now you look at the quality of the squad – all over the park we’ve got it.
“We’ve got quality on the bench, players who can come on and make the difference.
“So, it’s about trying to make that quality count and bringing it all together to becoming a good team.”
Robertson has won the Champions League and Premier League with Liverpool in recent seasons, but on an international level the 40-times capped left back feels qualifying for a World Cup would top the achievement of reaching this summer’s European Championships.
The 27-year-old added: “It would be right up there.
“The Euros is a huge competition and to qualify for that is great, but the World Cup is that step up.
“Playing against all the nations of the world – the South Americans, the Africans – would be right up there.
“I suppose we’ve got the monkey off our back, as such, finally qualifying for a major tournament after such a long time.
“Now it’s about building momentum with that, it’s not waiting for as long as the next one.
“It’s about getting Scotland back to qualifying for tournaments on a regular basis.
“So, we’re the group of boys who can hopefully do that. But we know how hard it’s going to be and it’s up to us to be able to show our qualities to get into the position to do so.”
