Hamsik knows Slovakians have to pick up the pace

SLOVAKIA schemer Marek Hamsik admits he is still smarting from the 95thminute Adam Lallana goal that consigned his team to defeat on the opening night of World Cup qualifying.

With a total of 10 ties in the six-strong Group F, the Napoli star admits that the Slovaks were determined to build their bid for Russia 2018 on their home form.

A 1-0 defeat to England in Sam Allardyce’s only game as national boss had them lagging three points behind schedule before last night’s 1-0 defeat in Slovenia made things even worse.

That may be bad news for Gordon Strachan and his Scotland players, as their doubly motivated hosts strive to eradicate the memory of their double disappointment in Trnava on Tuesday.

‘We knew right from the draw that our home form would be very important to qualification,’ said the vicecaptain (right), who recently surpassed Diego Maradona’s Serie A goal tally for Napoli. ‘We knew the away games in the group would be tough and so recovering the points that we lose at home may not be easy.

‘We still cannot quite work out how we managed to take nothing from the game against England. We were the better team, we passed the ball quicker than they did but we did not get ahead. If we had, England would have had to change their approach, ‘They were able to sit behind the ball and make it difficult for us with their five-man midfield. It was our responsibility to shake them out of their system but we failed to do that. ‘Even so, we know we deserved better. We will take confidence from the way that we performed, if not the result. ‘We would be happy to play as well against Scotland. With former Rangers winger Vladimir Weiss omitted after driving problems last weekend, 92-times-capped Hamsik will bear even more creative responsibility for the Slovakians.

Even without Weiss, the Scots will face a vastly experienced side for the first-ever game between the nations.

‘After this campaign, it is certain that the squad will undergo change,’ added Hamsik.

‘That is why it is so important that we do well in this group.’