Pedro Martinez Losa has warned Scotland that they need to be ready to repeat Friday’s singe-mindedness as they seek to consolidate their position at the top of Group B2.
They took all three points at Hampden after a delay to kick-off following a Palestinian protestor chaining himself to a goalpost while external protests could be heard before and during the closed-doors game.
This afternoon’s return encounter against Israel takes place in the BSC stadium, Budaors in neutral Budapest. But Martinez Losa is aware they could be a similar scenario around the game.
“As a group and a staff, I thought we coped very well with those challenges on Friday,” he said. “We responded well and kept our focus, as you could see with the way we performed in the opening period. It is the same message now tonight.
“We have to be prepared for what could potentially be another test in that regard but hopefully circumstances are not quite as challenging.”
Scotland have taken second points from nine as they sit at the halfway stage of the campaign with Martinez Losa eager to make it a third successive win today.
“I think being top of the group gives us motivation to get stronger,” he said. “When you win, you are naturally in a good place and have the desire to keep learning, keep improving.
“I thought there were some really good aspects to the performance on Friday although there are naturally elements that we can look at where we want to improve and correct.”
Goals have been a headache for Scotland at times with the Spaniard satisfied that elements of training have come together.
“It was good for us to score four goals,” he said. “These are areas that we have worked on consistently.
“We have worked on elements and ideas individually and collectively and you can see now that we are starting to find solutions.
“There has been no magic recipe but rather it comes down to small margins in games.”
A win this afternoon would strengthen Scotland’s hand as they look to win the group. Doing so would give them the best route through what is a complex play-off system as they look to book their place in Switzerland next year and avoid the scenario of another major tournament passing them by.
The long-term goal is securing a spot at the European Championship next summer in Switzerland.
"We want to stay on top going into the last two games next month,” said Martinez Losa.
