Scotland manager Pedro Martinez Losa tends to the practical rather than the whimsical, but he has admitted that he has already allowed his mind to take him to Switzerland next summer.
Getting there in his mind’s eye is one thing; getting Scotland there is another. Finland lie between Martinez Losa’s side and a place at the European Championships with the Continent’s elite.
The first leg takes place this evening at Easter Road before the return leg in Helsinki on Tuesday with the Spaniard quietly confident while accepting the test that lies across the next few days.
“It is impossible not to dream,” said Martinez Losa. “You see the men playing at the Euros and you see the fans and the energy of the whole country and it is something that inspires you in the day-to-day. “You wake up every day wanting to replicate something like that, or even better if we can. “On the other side, you don’t want to think too far because the critical part is to take it one day at a time.” Martinez Losa has suggested that despite the pressures around the games, he is relaxed because he senses that this is a side in an ideal moment. Scotland go into the play-off tie on the back of eight games unbeaten with confidence not in question. “I am comfortable because I feel we have a great team and I feel that we prepared,” he said. “We are in the best position that we can be to face this challenge.
“We have shaped an excellent team on and off the pitch. On it we have seen clear progress and off the pitch we have also shaped the right culture and I am positive we are in the ideal place to face this challenge.
“We are all aware it is not just another game. We can all feel the energy. But we know what we can do well. “We know the journey that has brought us to this position today. We have players who have been involved in major tournaments and Champions League but the most important is what we are going to deliver together.” The echoes of missing out on the last World Cup lingered for Scotland after they failed to overcome the Republic of Ireland at Hampden. “We have no regrets about what has happened before,” he said. “We just want to look to the game and know that we are capable of making people very happy. We need our best version of ourselves. I still think we have another level.”
