Rediscovering our early sparkle will turn things round, insists Maloney

IF any player stands as a totem for Scotland’s bid to qualify for Euro 2016 it’s Shaun Maloney. Four goals and a couple of direct assists for game-changing own goals stands as an impressive individual contribution to the cause but, like all others in dark blue, his form deserted him as the campaign neared its end-game in Tbilisi on Friday night.

There was one sparkling moment — a skip and a turn that led to a slide-rule pass from which Steven Fletcher hit the post — but, otherwise, Maloney struggled to get on the ball in the Boris Paichadze Stadium.

There was no attempt to sugar coat the 1-0 defeat from Hull City’s new signing but nor does he accept that Scotland have suddenly become a bad side doomed to failure.

The loss leaves Gordon Strachan’s team needing a result from tomorrow night’s visit of world champions Germany but Maloney believes Scotland have earned the right to believe they can take something from Joachim Low’s superstar line-up.

‘Just because we didn’t play well on Friday doesn’t mean we can’t play well on Monday,’ stated the 32-year-old. ‘We have to understand why we were performing well in the earlier games and get back to that. We still have an opportunity and we have to turn it around.’

Maloney (right) admitted he was at a loss to explain what went wrong in Tbilisi. A team which performed with such spirit and cohesion throughout the campaign looked equally low on energy and ideas.

The heat might partly explain the lethargy but Maloney was not in the mood for excuses.

‘No excuses about the conditions, they were the same for both teams and the pitch was excellent,’ he said. ‘We just didn’t play as well as we can. It didn’t feel like there was a massive amount between the teams but we didn’t deserve to win the game.

‘The only positive is there is a chance to put that right.’

The way in which manager Kakhaber Tskhadadze and his backroom staff celebrated on the final whistle was more suggestive of a team that had achieved qualification rather than one which had won its first competitive home match since 2012.

But the real benefactors were the Republic of Ireland, whose players were given a timely lift when the result filtered through before they kicked off against Gibraltar in Faro.

A 4-0 win against the group minnows has put the Irish in the driving seat in the pursuit of third spot and a play-off place.

‘It is now down to who performs the best in the games remaining,’ said Maloney

After Germany, Scotland round off the campaign next month with games against Poland and then Gibraltar. Ireland’s run-in looks trickier, with Georgia visiting Dublin tomorrow before ending against Germany and the Poles. ‘Look, it is still there to play for,’ said Maloney. ‘We just need to play better to give ourselves a chance.’

Whether Strachan’s players have it in them to effect sufficient improvement to get the better of Germany tomorrow night remains to be seen. Low’s men enjoyed an impressive 3-1 victory over Poland in Frankfurt on Friday night and will arrive in Scotland well rested after a short flight.

By comparison, Scotland’s preparations have been horrendous. A delay to the official charter meant the flight back from Tbilisi did not land until 6am yesterday. ‘We are massive underdogs,’ admitted Maloney. ‘We are playing the world champions. There is a reason they are superior to all the other teams. ‘But we’ll give it as good as we can on the night. We shouldn’t be written off just yet.’