McGhee chases win after Fir Park axe
Burley’s Scotland while in charge of Macedonia at the start of the 2010 World Cup campaign.
Asked about apathy surrounding the national team McGhee said: “The tolerance levels of fans aren’t based on what happened on Wednesday night.
“They are based on the fact we’re going into this game on Sunday needing to win to still have a chance of qualifying and the fact we aren’t clear and qualified.
“We have to live with that and the way to overcome it is to make a good start in the game and clearly to get a goal early on.
“That’s what we have to live with but we’re big enough and man enough to withstand that. We need to win to have any chance of qualifying. What I do think is that results change perceptions.
“If we do win on Sunday night then we’ll suddenly all feel different again but there’s no kidding anyone on, we need to win. As far as we are concerned Wednesday sat outside of Sunday.
“A lot of the players who weren’t involved might be included against Slovenia and players like Tom Cairney were introduced for the first time. There were things that were for the future as much as Sunday.
“There wasn’t a lot going on at Easter Road with a view to Sunday, possibly thankfully. We need to give Slovenia every respect. They play narrow with the boy Josip Ilicic coming off the front.
“We see it as a real challenge. It’s a must-win game but if and when we do win it will be a fantastic result. They have two ways of setting up. They set up with a diamond and two up front when they have a feeling they can win the game.
“And they set up in a more 4-1-4-1 situation if they think they need to be a bit more cautious. So it will be interesting to see how they come out as it will give us a clue right away as to how they feel about us.
“But regardless of that, we need to go and beat them. There might come a point in the game where we need to throw caution to the wind but we won’t set off like that. We only have to win 1-0 so we will be sensible.
“We have a game plan where we will work out how to get into areas where we can make chances and hopefully we can turn possession in advanced areas into more clear-cut chances than we did against Canada.”
Strachan has bemoaned the lack of action for his frontmen as he faces a striker selection headache. Chris Martin started against Canada with Jordan Rhodes and Leigh Griffiths introduced in the second half. McGhee said: “At the end of the day they are the players we have available. They have been having whatever experience they are having at their own clubs in terms of how they’ve been used. “These are all boys who, in the modern game, have a great attitude towards their own self-maintenance and their own levels of fitness and their own health. “We’d hope they take that responsibility on and also the occasion itself, with the high stakes, would give them enough adrenalin to get them up to the level we know they are capable of.” Strachan rested the Celtic players in his squad but McGhee believes the influence of the high-flying Hoops stars, unbeaten domestically and chasing a clean sweep, could be crucial. He said: “Any Celtic players selected come in on a real high. They are about to win the title again when they go back. They are anticipating that and they all look great in training. “And they will lift those who play with them in the game. So, yes, we hope to benefit from the positivity that seems to surround the Celtic players at the moment.”