Scotland coach John Carver insists all the focus is on avoiding final day drama as Steve Clarke and his players bid to secure their World Cup play-off berth in Moldova on Friday.
The national team has two chances to book a play-off berth but they know three points in Moldova will ensure Scotland finish runners up behind group winners Denmark, who visit Hampden on Monday for the final game of the campaign.
Fully focused on Moldova
They may effectively have two bites at the cherry but Carver says the squad is united in a desire to get the job done in Moldova.
He said: “That’s our priority. We’ve not looked at ‘can we qualify, can we finish second, will we be seeded?’
“All we’re looking at is Friday night. That’s the most important bit and if we can qualify on Friday night then we’ll look to the future and look to the next game.
“But let’s get the job done on Friday night. That’s the most important bit.
“It’s great that it’s in our hands and that’s only the case because of what we did in Austria, what we did at Hampden against Israel and more importantly, what we did in the Faroe Islands.
“We spoke about how difficult that would be and what we don’t want is all that hard work to go down the drain.
“Knowing the character and mentality of these guys, hopefully that won’t happen. Hopefully they’ll be right and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be prepared and ready for the game on Friday night.”
Moldova prop up Group F with one point in the campaign so far but Carver believes the late winner in the Faroe Islands last month shows why patience will be key on Friday.
Carver said: “We’ll have to get there and see what the pitch and the conditions are like, but I’m sure we’ll have quite a bit of the ball but we can’t go gung-ho, thinking that we can throw everything at them from the first whistle.
“We have to manage the game. Look at the Faroes game – it took us until the 86th minute before we broke them down.
“But this group is good at finding a way to break teams down. It might take the last five minutes but they’ve shown they can do it.”
Scotland can cope without Dykes and Christie
Lyndon Dykes, who scored the winning goal against the Faroe Islands last month will miss the game in Moldova due to suspension along with Ryan Christie.
Carver, however, believes there are several candidates ready to step up and lead the line including Stoke City’s Jacob Brown, who is in the squad for the first time.
He said: “Che (Adams) is scoring goals at Southampton and we do have good quality in the group.
“We’ve brought young Jacob (Brown) in and he’s looked lively on the training ground, which is good. Kevin Nisbet id chomping at the bit because he sees an opportunity.
“We’ve got other players who can operate in advanced areas, depending on what system we play, so it’s a chance for someone else to give the manager a headache.”
Carver saw Brown in person for the first time during the first training session and he believes the Stoke striker will offer a fresh option to Clarke.
He said: “I’ve only previously watched him on TV.
“I watched him in training this morning and I got excited by what I saw. He’s different to what we’ve got in the group.
“He’s got that little change of pace, he does things that you don’t expect him to do – and that can be difficult for defenders.
“So, that’s his first real training session. He’s not been overawed by the whole situation.
“Jacob’s come in, he’s been immediately accepted by the group and that’s the type of group we’ve got.
“They made him feel welcome and comfortable. That’s why he’s gone on the training ground this morning and did really well.”