Even a 10-0 win today might not be good enough
James McFadden is a man able to lay claim to Scotland’s most-iconic goal.
Back in 2007, his wonder strike in the Parc des Princes, Paris – which delivered victory over France – was hailed as a moment to light up any match.
A dozen years on, though, and with McFadden now providing assistance for manager Alex McLeish in the dugout rather than on the pitch, he doubts whether even a repeat from one of the current crop of players in San Marino today would be enough to satisfy fans hurting from Kazakhstan.
Unless, that is, it comes as part of a goal haul to set aside Cyprus’s drubbing of the Sammarinese on Thursday night.
“Cyprus won 5-0, so the pressure is there,” he said.
“We know 1-0 is not going to be good enough for us, and that we need to show we are better than that.
“For some people, maybe 10-0 is not going to be good enough.
“We know that, but it is important the players are focussed on the game.
“They don’t have to worry about anything else, and all the rubbish that comes with it.
“They have to make sure they are ready for it mentally, and go and attack the game.
“It is going to be tough because of how they sit in. But we are going to have to find a way to deal with that, to break them down.
“I am confident we can do that. Certainly, we have the quality of players to do it.”
McFadden remains equally stalwart in his defence of the manager, rejecting as the usual ‘background noise’, calls for him to be sacked.
“There are always going to be detractors,” he said.
“There are people who didn’t want him in the job in the first place, just waiting for nights like Thursday.
“I have full belief in him, which is why I was delighted to join his staff and try to help the country get to a major finals.
“In terms of our roles, we just make sure we are there for him and re-inforce the belief that we will bounce back and move on.
“Listen, I have played under Alex and I have worked with him so I know what he is like.
“He is strong, resilient, and I think he is the right man.
“I said even before I knew there was any chance of my working with him that he was the right man for the job. “That hasn’t changed. “He has been in management a long time, enjoyed many highs, suffered many lows and he has dealt with it every time.
“You have just got to be there to support him.”