Anya: Stay positive for success

Ikechi Anya says the power of positive thinking can fire Scotland to the World Cup.

Gordon Strachan’s side face make-or-break clashes with Slovakia and Slovenia this week as they fight to keep their play-off hopes alive.

Yet just 12 months ago the prospect of the Scots still being in contention at this stage seemed altogether unlikely.

A meagre tally of just four points from the first 12 available left Strachan’s men facing the largest of uphill struggles.

But having watched the side claw themselves back into the fight for second spot in Group F, Anya has hailed the belief in the Scotland stars who refused to waver even in the dark days of a challenging campaign.

“You’ve always got to be positive,” said the Derby wideman. “There’s no point on dwelling on the past.

“Obviously we didn’t make the best start to the group but had we dwelt on that too much and thought to ourselves, ‘Oh no, we’re not going to do it’, we wouldn’t be in the position we are now.

“We always had the confidence that if we addressed certain things then we could be in a good position. That’s what we did, and now just bring on these last two games.”

The odds remain stacked against Strachan’s team, though. After beating Lithuania and Malta, to guarantee the runners-up slot Scotland need to extend their run to four wins in a row - a feat the Scots have not managed in competitive action since 2007.

That would have been hard enough with a full squad, but injuries to the Celtic pair of Scott Brown and Stuart Armstrong as well as Newcastle’s Matt Ritchie have significantly weakened the manager’s hand.

But Anya hopes the feelgood factor generated by last month’s back-to-back wins might just be enough to see the Scots through.

He said: “There’s always pressure in international football but you thrive off it. These are the games you want to play in.

“I think we’re going from strength to strength. Everybody knows what needs to be done.”