Palmer on revenge mission at Hampden

SCOTLAND right-back Liam Palmer admits revenge is on his mind as he prepares to face Kazakhstan tonight.

Palmer made his international debut in the 3-0 defeat in Nur-Sultan which opened Scotland’s European Championship qualification group, and brought down the curtain on Alex McLeish’s second spell in charge of the national team.

Scotland, now under the guidance of Steve Clarke, who has won his last two Group I matches against San Marino and Cyprus, close their qualifying campaign against Kazakhstan at Hampden tonight with Clarke having replaced

McLeish after a successful two-year spell as manager of Ladbrokes Premiership side Kilmarnock.

Palmer agrees with Clarke that Scotland need to look forward to March’s play-off campaign and beating Kazakhstan to seal third place in the section as well as a hat-trick of wins would help with confidence and momentum going into those do-or-die fixtures in 2020.

But after waiting seven months for his second cap, Palmer is also looking to exorcise some demons from his debut.

Palmer, who made his fourth Scotland appearance in Saturday’s win over Cyprus, told said: “The boys who didn’t play on Saturday, if they get a chance to play on Tuesday they will be keen to show what they can do and everyone is trying to stake a claim for, hopefully, two big games in March.

“Everyone is pushing towards that. It would be massive, not just for me obviously, but for everyone in the country, fans, if we can get there.

“But it’s an old cliche, one game at a time, and just build from what is a winnable game and a bit of revenge for some of us who were out there at the start of the campaign.

“It’s another element we will be looking to address.”