Jordan warns missing out will ‘eat away’ at players

Failure to qualify for a World Cup would “eat away” at Scotland players when their careers are over, according to Joe Jordan.

The Scottish national side have not appeared at a major tournament since the 1998 World Cup in France and qualification hopes for Russia 2018 are precariously balanced ahead of the visit of old rivals England to Hampden Park on Saturday.

Former Scotland striker Jordan never failed to qualify for the World Cup during an international career that spanned a decade and is the only Scottish player to score in three of them, in 1974, 1978 and 1982.

Asked how those current Scotland players, who are closer to the end of their careers than the beginning, would feel if a World Cup finals appearance escaped them, he said: “I don’t know how they would respond to the question now but I can assure you later on in your career, after your career is finished and you settle down and take whatever direction you take, that is something that would be a regret. “It would eat away at you definitely.” Jordan put the secret of his World Cup success down to luck and “playing with good players, although I had to work hard to play with them”.

He added: “Footballers have a short career and especially when you talk about qualification for the World Cup.

“It is (every) four years and if it doesn’t fall right for you, you might only get one or two qualification opportunities so you have to take it.

“It is a major event, a major chapter in your career.

“I go away back to when I first came into the Scotland team, I saw that with players who were older than me.

“People like Denis Law, Jimmy Johnstone and Billy Bremner, players like that who hadn’t had the opportunity to play in a World Cup.

“They had done everything in the game but they wanted to play against the best in the big tournament, the World Cup.

“I could see it in them when we had qualified (for 1974). This is an opportunity and the chances are running out.”

The former Leeds, Manchester United and AC Milan attacker stressed the importance of taking chances this weekend against a country which has not lost a qualifying game in any major tournament since 2009.

He added: “When you are playing against a team who are stronger, with players playing at bigger clubs, you won’t get a barrow load of chances.

“Scotland had one or two chances at Wembley and didn’t take them and you have to take them.”