To hell with respect... Malta must be mauled
THE NEXT person who bangs on about the need for Scotland to show ‘respect’ to the minuscule minnows of Malta should be locked up for insulting the intelligence of Planet Football. Respect? Come on. Scottish footballers have been fulsome in the esteem afforded a variety of opponents over the past couple of decades. How’s that working out for us? This is no time for such reticence, no occasion for allowing the Maltese to settle into their surroundings and grow into a contest so obviously one-sided that even Floyd Mayweather couldn’t promote it.
Because tonight isn’t really about beating Malta. It’s about sending out a message to Slovakia.
A message that reads: ‘Be afraid. Be very afraid.’
At the business end of a qualifying campaign that was very nearly sabotaged beyond repair from the outset, the Tartan Army have every right to bay for blood.
Yes, Gordon Strachan’s men have left it late.
But Friday night’s thrashing of Lithuania in Vilnius, a result that would have pleased any team in Europe’s upper tier, has won them the gift of momentum.
Indeed, they are carrying such a head of steam into this fixture that, for once, the traditional cry of ‘gerrintaethem’ — often exactly the wrong message for players to hear rolling down from the stands — seems absolutely spot on.
Because the closing fixtures of any qualifying group are, with the exception of the absolute elite and the complete no-hopers, played on the nerves of those involved.
This is when the teams with heart, nous and bravery make their mark, hold their form and get the job done.
We’ve seen Scotland sides crumble often enough under this kind of pressure over the years.
There simply isn’t the space to list every opponent that has been unwilling to bend and break when our boys have turned up in dire need of triumph.
On occasion, Scotland players have seemed paralysed by the tension. Simply unable to take that final step, regardless of how the opposition perform.
Now? Our best hopes lie in making Slovakia feel completely numbed by the strain.
Stick five or more past a Malta team still reeling from their late collapse against England, and it won’t exactly fill the Slovaks with confidence ahead of our October 5 encounter under the floodlights in Mount Florida.
It’s a feat that should be more than possible against a nation who are ranked 190th in the world.
That’s right, a nation who find themselves sandwiched neatly between Bangladesh and Liechtenstein in the grand scheme of things. To put that in further perspective, they are a full 40 places adrift of Tahiti.
In this particular Malta Story, the visitors should stand less of a chance than Alex Guinness when the Luftwaffe swept down upon his unarmed observation plane. Watch the film, you’ll understand.
The fact that Scotland are still in with an outside chance of making the play-offs is, of course, something to be celebrated.
Yes, there is room for plenty of what-ifs in Group F.
In fact, it’s impossible not to wonder what might have happened had Strachan started the campaign with something closer to the current starting XI.
But three more wins, including our final match in Slovenia on October 8, should be enough to get us into the play-offs — where, undoubtedly, we will be drawn against four-times world champions Italy.
Come on, you know they are going to be the runners-up guaranteed to come out of the hat right after the Scots.
Some things are just written in the stars.
For that to happen in the first place, Strachan’s warriors need to convince Slovakia that Scotland are running them down hard.
They need to convince Jan Kozak’s team that being dragged back into the fray is just one of those pre-ordained events — irresistible, unavoidable, unstoppable.
The mission starts by making a public sacrifice of Malta at Hampden this evening.
Brave, puny, ill-fated Malta. With all due disrespect.