Nirsays his pain is twice that felt in Scotland
Nir Bitton has warned the Scottish FA that Israel won’t be coming to Hampden just to make up the numbers.
The Association, desperate to do all they can to give Scotland the best chance of qualifying for Euro 2020, have announced discounted ticket prices for the Play-off semi-final next March.
The cheapest concessions start at only £5, with adult Scotland Supporters Club members able to sit in the East and West Stands for £15.
The governing body hope the move will help guarantee a sell-out for manager Steve Clarke, who hopes to build on the momentum generated by successive victories against San Marino, Cyprus and Kazakhstan.
Scotland need to win the one-off game to reach the Play-off Final, where they will face an away tie against either Norway or Serbia, with the winners qualifying for next summer’s extravaganza.
If Scotland get through, they will have the added incentive of playing two of their games in the Finals at Hampden, against Croatia and the Czech Republic, as well as a visit to play England at Wembley on Friday, June 19.
Celtic midfielder Bitton, however, argues fans would be foolish to look too far ahead.
“You all talk here about not having qualified since 1998. But our last appearance was in the 1970 World Cup – so our wait has been 28 years longer!” said the Israeli.
“So, of course, we are all choking to make it happen.
“Because we have not qualified for a major tournament for such a long time, there is a bit of negativity around everyone.
“But it is our job to do what we need to do on the pitch, and to try to get us to a tournament.
“It is going to be a tough match. March is still cold here in Glasgow, and it will probably be rainy and windy as well.
“So you look at that, and you think it will be a difficult match for us. But, remember, we have already beaten Scotland, in the tie in Israel last year.
“That will give us confidence. It will allow us to come here and think that we can win.
“We need to make sure we are ready for a battle, and if we do so, then hopefully we will win the game.”
With Bitton and Hoops team-mate, Hatem Abd Elhamed, playing their club football in Scotland, the visitors have two obvious spies in the enemy camp.
But Bitton is sceptical as to the value of any intelligence they can pass on.
“I gave them information about James Forrest last year – and he scored a hat-trick against us,” said the Israeli with a laugh.
“For this one, I have told him to watch himself because me and Hatem are coming for him!
“But, of course, it is not just about me and Hatem, or about Jamesie. It is about Scotland as a team and Israel as a team.
“And as much as I could give them information about the players at Celtic, Scotland also have a lot of good players who are with other clubs.
“We know that, and we will just need to be prepared.”
That task will fall in the main to Israel coach Andi Herzog, who, Bitton argues, will be more than up for the fight.
“When we first played Scotland last October, our coach was new. It was the first two months of his time in charge. He was just taking stock of what we had,” said Bitton.
“Now, after one-and-a-half years working with him, hopefully we will be better and we will get a result at Hampden.
“We know that having failed to qualify from the group, we are lucky that we still have this chance.
“For us, it doesn’t matter if we play in Israel or away. It is just another game.
“It is a one-off and, because of that, you know you have to be at your best if you are to qualify.
“Yeah, the two games we played against each other (Scotland lost 2-1 in Israel but won 3-2 at Hampden) could have gone either way.
“The game in March, I believe, will be the same. So we will come here and do our best to get through. We have nothing to lose. It is just one game.
“And having already beaten Scotland once, we are entitled to look at this as a 50-50 match.”