There have been a few tension-filled, high-pressure, must-win Scotland matches since Andy Robertson came on to replace Barry Bannan in the 67th minute of a friendly against Poland in the National Stadium in Warsaw way back on March 5, 2014.
So Robertson, a gnarled veteran of epic tussles with the likes of Republic of Ireland, Austria, Israel, Serbia, England, Croatia, Ukraine, Spain, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Morocco and Brazil, will not be fazed at the prospect of becoming only the second man in his country’s history to make a century of appearances here in Skopje this evening.
Nor will the Nations League meeting with North Macedonia in the National Arena Todor Proeski hold any fears for the national team’s captain.
He has squared up to far more formidable adversaries on much grander stages during his 12 year international career and has enjoyed his fair share of successes in them.
All of that said, it will be understandable if this Group B1 encounter with rivals who are on a 10 game losing run and have not scored a goal since Rangers striker Bojan Miovski netted in a 7-1 loss to Wales in a World Cup qualifier in Cardiff in November last year has the Spurs left-back feeling a little on edge.
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The focus during the build-up to this fixture has rightly been on the former Queen’s Park, Dundee United, Hull City and Liverpool player. He will be lauded by the thousands of Tartan Army footsoldiers who have travelled to the Balkans to cheer on their heroes both before kick-off and during the match.
Robertson, a Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League winner during his nine years at Anfield, will move to within two outings of record cap holder Sir Kenny Dalglish tonight and become only our second centurion.
He may not be at quite the same level as his fellow Glaswegian. Who is? But his status as an all-time Scotland great is assured. He has performed with distinction in a dark blue jersey since making his debut as a substitute at the tender age of 19 and has worn the captain’s armband with pride since 2018.
But the defender will be acutely aware of the need to record a victory against North Macedonia and will, dedicated professional that he is, be focusing more on that than any personal acclaim which will come his way. He knows that a defeat will provoke a backlash from the stands and prompt unhelpful grumbling about the new system and approach.
Sebastien Pocognoli, who only replaced Steve Clarke as head coach in August, was always going to be given time to implement his new game plan and introduce new personnel.
The draw with Slovenia in Ljubljana last Saturday and reverse against Switzerland at Hampden on Tuesday evening after Jack Hendry had been sent off did him personally no significant harm.
But a loss to such limited rivals in his third match in charge will not be well received and will lead to questions being asked about whether the former Royal Union Saint-Gilloise and Monaco manager has the necessary experience, nous and stature for the job he unexpectedly landed for the first time in his short reign.
Particularly if Scotland fail to score for the fifth match running for the first time in their entire 154 year history. Their current four game barren run up front is their worst since 1971. If they go 22 minutes without finding the target in Skopje it will be their worst ever.
That, of course, is not really on Pocognoli. He was not the man in the technical area during the World Cup meetings with Morocco and Brazil back in June. But it will be an unwanted statistic all the same.
The Belgian should persevere with the same 3-5-2 formation which he introduced seven days ago and field Oli McBurnie, who has impressed since being recalled despite failing to find the net, in a twin strikeforce alongside either Kieron Bowie or Robbie Ure. It would help his cause if one or more of them could end the scoring slump.
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“The process is longer than just one camp,” said Pocognoli last night. “We have a process where we have invited a lot of new players and everybody was happy with this and with a different approach. So it takes a little bit of time. I’m not asking for time, I’m just explaining the process.
“But a win will make a difference. It will be important for the players and the staff, the fans also. If we had won the first game in Slovenia it would probably have given a different feeling to everybody because competitive sport is all about results.
“Right now we have a longer process than just to get the results. Some of these things will take a little more time but we need a good performance.”
He continued, “I’m not interested in statistics. This lack of goalscoring is there for many games. Do I take it personally or do the players take it personally? I don’t think so.
“They are just focussed on having a good game and getting three points. Sometimes you don’t have to think too much on one topic.
“But, after the camp, we will see what we have to improve. Maybe tomorrow we have a good game, we score some goals and we can laugh about this situation. I hope.”
“Sometimes you have to take the small wins and we had some of them on Tuesday night. For example, Oli McBurnie had a good game and probably, for the first time, got a good feeling with the supporters.
“Sometimes you take what you can out of the situation and then use these things in the future. Sometimes, as a coach, you have to be happy with the small things.”
