Haifa horror show will act as a spur to shaken Scots
Steven Naismith and John Mcginn united in their attempts to put on a brave face in the wake of Scotland’s Nations League horror show.
The emergence of the pair as key members of the national side has been one of the brighter elements of manager Alex Mcleish’s tenure as manager.
And despite what was a particularly tough defeat to take in Haifa, both insist it is important to keep things in context.
“I don’t think there should be an overreaction to this re s u l t ,” s ai d Naismith.
“We still have two games to go, and we have got more than enough in the squad to qualify from the group.
“I wouldn’t say the Israel performance is a reflection of where we are at.
“There was a naivety about us. It is a young side and a young squad, and we gave up too much ground to them, simple as that.
“If we had been dangerous, gone on the front foot a bit, made that call, then maybe we would not have got as punished as heavily as we did.
“It is disappointing, but we gained experience in how to manage a game.
“The manager still has the backing of the players. I think we are moving forward.
“You just need to look at last month’s result against Albania, and everybody was feeling good.”
Naismith’s message was echoed by Mcginn, who had looked distraught on seeing the Tartan Army’s disgust at Scotland’s display.
“It was gutting for us hearing the reaction. Not one player left the park who h a d n’t given everything, so it was disappointing to hear it,” said the Aston V illa midfielder.
“But the fans want success as much as we do.
“So this loss wa s hopefully just a blip.
“We know how important these two games are with Israel and Albania – and we need to win them.
“All three teams now have three points so we’re back to square one.
“We went to Israel to win, and even a point would have been a great result.
“But it doesn’t matter who you’re up against. When you go down to 10 men, it’s always going to be difficult.
“Israel used the ball well, and got a fluky goal to win it.
“We did create chances with 10 men, though, which is a positive we need to hold on to.
“Now it is Portugal at Hampden, and we just need to try to get everyone up again in a bid to regain our momentum.
“It won’t be easy. We’re up against a top- quality team, but we just need to show what we can do.
“We need to play off the front foot a bit more, and put on a more positive showing.”