We have let McLeish down. Now it’s win or bust against the Albanians
FOR ALL NATIONS LEAGUE NEWS VISIT
THE Loro Borici Stadium in the Albanian city of Shkoder would rarely be mistaken for one of the great citadels of the game.
Nonetheless, after the most chastening of weeks, it is now a place of enormous significance for the Scotland national team.
Despite the comprehensive final score, there was no real shame in the way Alex McLeish’s side eventually succumbed to European champions Portugal last night.
But on the back of defeat to Israel in the match that really mattered, there is no question that the public’s belief in the manager and his charges is now extremely fragile.
The reality is that the Nations League makes for a natural break in the qualification for the Euros that no previous Scotland manager has had to contend with.
Defeat the Albanians again and exact revenge on Israel, and McLeish will go into the regular qualifiers in March with a sense of achievement and a degree of momentum. Fail to tick off those modest tasks, though, and frankly the position of the manager would become virtually untenable.
Without directly referencing the manager’s growing predicament, Andrew Robertson was not of a mind to understate the importance of the task that lies in store on November 17.
‘We must win in Albania. It’s now or never,’ said the Scotland skipper.
‘The two games are big and, hopefully, we will be spot on when we meet up.
‘We are in a fourgame group and we have two matches left. They are must-win.
‘We only have three points and that’s not enough.
‘When the group came out, we’d have fancied ourselves to finish top — and we still do.
‘Hopefully we go there with confidence and the country looks forward to it, and not be scared.’
McLeish will need no one to spell out what the potential consequences of failure would be.
A man who has spent his entire adult life at the sharp end of the professional game, he’ll appreciate that 77 caps for your country in the past offers no shelter against a brewing storm in the here and now.
For all the heat the manager is feeling is part of the territory, Robertson contends that the burden must be shouldered by others.
‘We have to step up for the manager, as he doesn’t cross the white lines,’ he said. ‘We let him down on Thursday. We weren’t good enough.
‘The result was the same on Sunday but the performance was a lot better. If we can do that in the competitive games, hopefully it’s better results.’
Unlike in Haifa, last night at Hampden McLeish could legitimately point to some tangible signs of progress.
Shaping with the flat back four the public had demanded, his side looked settled and assured until they switched off on the stroke of half-time to allow Hélder Costa to find the net.
By the end, Portugal were picking us off at will, the depth and quality of Fernando Santos’ squad there for all to see.
‘The first half was good,’ said Robertson. ‘We showed a reaction from Thursday and we got balls in the box. We were a bit unlucky not to get on the end of one.
‘It was a sloppy goal to lose but we came back out and tried to stay confident.
‘But Portugal are a good team and started to take control. The two goals in the second half are from mistakes, which are avoidable.
‘We have to look at that and we have to start cutting them out.’
Although more through accident than design, the side McLeish was forced to fashion had a greater sense of shape and cohesion, if not much of an end product. ‘We have had a lot of criticism since Thursday and the lads wanted to go out and do well,’ continued Robertson. ‘We were looking for a positive start and we got that.
‘There were some fresher legs and I felt some lads took their chance very well.’ As ever with Scotland, there was a ‘what if’ moment. Last night’s belonged to Scott McKenna, the Aberdeen defender guiding a header just wide of the post with the deficit just one.
‘Scott had a really good chance and if that goes in, we would have gone from strength to strength,’ insisted Robertson.
As Scotland prepare to embark upon a trip to what’s still Europe’s most mysterious country, there is nothing secretive about what is now required. Anything less than a win against a side which were as poor as Hampden has witnessed in many a long year simply won’t do.
‘We have a squad that can cope with the pressure,’ said Robertson. ‘I’m sure the younger lads won’t have any fear.
‘But it’s up to the experienced boys like me, Naisy (Steven Naismith) and Charlie (Mulgrew) to help the younger ones.
‘The next two games are crucial but we look forward to it.
‘We now have to embrace the situation and look forward to the games.
‘There is no point shying away from that.’