Scotland captain Andy Robertson is determined to reignite a sense of optimism among the Tartan Army as they prepare for their UEFA Nations League opener against Poland on Thursday night.
After a series of challenging matches coupled with a disappointing Euro 2024 during the summer, Robertson believes that this fixture represents a crucial opportunity for his team to turn the tide and restore faith among their passionate supporters.
The Liverpool full-back addressed the media ahead of the upcoming clash at Hampden Park and he knows just how important it is to give the country a team that they can be proud of, with a host of fresh faces included among Steve Clarke's squad.
He said: "Look for us, we just want to get back on the grass, we want to put our Scotland shirt back on, and we want to try and have a positive feeling again.
Read more:
- Steve Clarke says striker never asked to be withdrawn from Scotland squad
- Scotland star Stuart Armstrong expected to secure MLS transfer
"We've got new blood in the squad, we've got new faces around the team, and it's up to us experienced boys to try and help them as well, and try and help for what's coming up next.
"We just want to get back out playing together and try and get the confidence back with each other, and try and get positive results.
"We know the fans were disappointed with what happened in the summer, but we also know that they are the best fans in the world and I think they showed that in the summer.
"I think they will continue to support us but we have to give them something to shout about, and that's what now our aim is.
"We know now we are in Group A and we know it's going to be difficult, but we need to get back to making our home games really difficult for teams coming here and also being tough to beat away from home because that's what our success was build on."
The Scotland skipper also admitted to holding positive discussions with Clarke following their European Championship exit in June, and has vowed to continue representing his nation for as along as he can.
“The manager is very good at asking the experienced players what we think about certain situations and I spoke to the manager a couple of times in the summer after the Euros had ended and we discussed many things," Robertson confessed.
“I don’t want to say too much, I think that’s obviously a conversation between me and the manager, but if we both weren’t committed we wouldn’t be here.
Read more:
- John Carver relishing 'daunting' Nations League campaign for Scotland
- Scotland defender a long term absentee after injury troubles worsen
“We’re here, we want to be successful again with Scotland and we know that the manager and the captain can help that in a big way.
“The manager wants to get to the World Cup, he’s made that clear. I want to play for Scotland as long as I can, as long as I’m good enough to get picked.
“So I think that shows the commitment that we’re here and the other things that get discussed will stay between me and the manager.
“It wasn’t anything bad, it was just what mistakes did we all make, was there collective mistakes, was there individual mistakes made, was there things that we can improve, was there things that we need to maybe change?
“We have that discussion after every camp, so the Euros was no different. It was just probably the Euros, for the first time in a long time, was maybe one where there was disappointment.
“Everything has been on the way up, the campaign was really good and the excitement for the Euros was all in the back of our mind and then obviously the summer came to an end.
“So I think that was the first time in a long time that there was probably more negatives to speak about than positives and that’s maybe why it was different.
“Obviously we were disappointed, there’s no buttering that up. We went there with hopes, we went there with dreams, we wanted to achieve something that’s never been achieved before by the country, that was what we aimed to do. And we didn’t manage to do that.
“But we just hope that we can now move forward from it and we can have better times in Scotland shirts again instead of what we did have in the summer.”
