THEY’VE SCOT IT COMING TO THEM
Ferguson aims to make rivals suffer after defeat
LEWIS FERGUSON admits those frantic final 15 minutes in Amsterdam left the Scotland squad feeling queasy.
But the knot in the stomach will be replaced by fire in the bellies by the time kick-off against Northern Ireland comes on Tuesday night.
Ferguson arrived late on the scene on Friday night and by that stage the Netherlands were pulling the Scots to bits.
A performance that promised so much for 70 minutes unravelled at an alarming rate and a match Steve Clarke’s men dominated for so long could have ended up even worse than a 4-0 hammering.
The warm fuzzy feel-good factor around the national side has turned into a sense of apprehension with the Euros now on the horizon.
Six games without a win, 18 goals shifted and hosts Germany awaiting in the opening fixture that will be watched around the world.
The Holland humbling was hard on the heels of sore ones against France and England.
But it was the type of night that provokes a reaction – and Ferguson admitted it’s mostly anger.
The Bologna star said: “Of course, there should be anger. After any defeat you want to put things right and after this one the fire will be in our bellies for sure.
“We’re not daft. We all know we need to improve. We can take all the positives away from it, but you can’t lose 4-0 and be happy. “
Scotland want to take out their frustrations on the Northern Irish and attempt to build some momentum going into the summer, with Gibraltar and Finland also lined up for tune-up clashes.
It was all ifs, buts and maybes, but no side can afford to miss the chances Clarke’s side fluffed in the Johan Cruyff Arena.
Not just half chances either. Lawrence Shankland going clean through was a huge moment but Ryan Christie had a couple of headers, Scott Mctominay should have nodded one in and Andy Robertson saw the whites of the keeper’s eyes as well.
Ferguson said: “We need to learn from it and we need to be much better on Tuesday night.
“We’re going to need everybody on top form and the learning curve has to take off from here is we want to do something in the summer.”
‘There should be anger. After defeat you want to put things right and the fire will be in our bellies for sure’