McNULTY CAN HELP SCOTS GET OFF TO A FLIER

SCOTLAND know one thing for sure. They need to get off to a flying start in the upcoming double-header against Kazakhstan and San Marino. History tells us this. Just look at the previous qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup. In what was only our second game of the group, a home draw with Lithuania effectively killed Scotland’s chances stone dead. We never recovered from that position. It always felt like we were behind the eight ball and chasing it. Alex McLeish and his players should be targeting maximum points from these opening two games in their bid to reach Euro 2020. This is where Marc McNulty comes into the equation. He’s been a revelation for Hibs since moving to Easter Road on loan in January. He’s scored seven goals in as many games and has been a key man in the revival under Paul Heckingbottom. He netted a penalty in Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Motherwell as Hibs made it 13 points from a possible 15 under their new manager. Hearts were top of the league in October. At that point, Hibs were eight points behind their Edinburgh rivals — but now they look like they might well pip them. McNulty (pictured) has been a key figure and he deserves a crack at the No 9 jersey. He’s clearly the in-form striker in the current squad. The game against Kazakhstan on Thursday afternoon will be a test of Scotland’s nerve more than anything. I played at the Astana Arena and it’s a strange stadium. It has a plastic pitch and a roof. The temperature in recent days has been dipping as low as minus ten, but it’ll be pleasant enough inside the stadium because they basically crank the heating up. So it’ll be up to Scotland to acclimatise. In McNulty, they have the ideal man to get them off to a red-hot start.