Gordon Strachan aims to use the positive vibes of the Tartan Army to drive Scotland towards the World Cup finals.
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Malta should be easy pickings for Scotland, even in the heat that is expected on the Mediterranean island, but they can not underestimate the minnows as we have already watched Maltese side Birkirkara embarrassingly dump out Hearts 2-1 on aggregate in Europe earlier this season.
And that support is key to maintaining his enthusiasm ahead of a new campaign.
“I’m not disputing Gordon is a good manager, but if you’ve not got the players to play his system I just think you’ve got to change it”, he said. We need to talk together to understand the problem.
When he last donned a Scotland tracksuit, the nation were riding high and he’s confident those good times are just around the corner again.
“I’ve enjoyed the attitude of the players, working with good players and good professionals”.
“In this campaign, let’s give it a go, and if we make it great but if not, at least we can put our hands up and say we gave it everything”.
Scotland fans endured some envious moments during the summer watching all of their neighbours at the European Championship in France, and even the likes of Iceland getting to the later stages.
“We wanted to try to perform, obviously, but it was about winning”, Strachan added.
“There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic”.
“I don’t know what can be done but everyone could see that there was no penalty whatsoever”, the Valletta FC captain said.
“We were caught out at the back and, when the cross came in from the left, Andrei Agius got a slight deflection which altered the flight of the ball”.
The Hull player sent Hogg the wrong way to give Scotland a cushion in the 61st minute.
“I want Scotland to win every game, not matter what my experiences were with the national team”.
“After that I’m not sure”.
After suffering the frustration of missing the entire Euro 2016 qualifying campaign with a knee injury, Snodgrass was delighted to make such a positive impact on what was his first competitive global appearance in nearly three years.
“They are not there because they are young, they are there because they have proved themselves to the coaching staff and the players by playing well in the games we have played, or being good about the place”.
He said: “I think if you ask anyone around the football world if that was the case they’d say it was correct”.
Meanwhile, the Scotland boss praised Fletcher’s persistence after he re-assumed the captaincy which long-term illness deprived him of.
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But Strachan and his players kept the head and with the help of one or two dubious refereeing decisions were able to depart Malta as group leaders.
