Steve Clarke insists Scotland will be just as fired up for the World Cup showdown with Ukraine as their war-torn rivals.
But the national boss will need to go without the injured Kieran Tierney as the Arsenal ace was left out of the initial 28-man squad for the play-offs.
National boss Clarke knows Ukraine have huge motivation going in to next Wednesday’s clash at Hampden against the backdrop of heartache in their homeland.
He’s delighted the tie is going ahead but insisted the Scots will be just as determined to set up a shot at Wales for a place in Qatar.
Clarke said: “Everyone is saying they will be so motivated but you’ll find our lads will be motivated to get to Qatar as well.
“We’ve waited a long time for this situation. It’s difficult for a country like Scotland to qualify for a World Cup.
“It’s difficult to put yourselves in this position, where we are two games away from going to Qatar.
“Myself, my staff and my players are all determined to be there.”
Ukraine have been forced to scramble a squad together for friendly clashes against clubs in Germany, Italy and Croatia, after the domestic league was abandoned in the wake of the Russian invasion.
Dynamo Kiev legend Viktor Leonenko insisted Scotland would wipe the floor with the ‘unstable’ Ukraine outfit Clarke is refusing to fall for any mind games.
He said: “We’ll not be paying attention to any of that talk whatsoever.
“It’s good we are playing. We wanted the game to go ahead, no one wanted anyone to get a bye or to not play the match.
“It’s good they’ve had the chance to get out of the country and some of them have been in a training camp for a few weeks playing with Shakhtar and Dynamo. They have nine or 10 boys from around Europe who will join them.
“They’ll have a good camp and be 100 per cent ready – just as we will be.”
The Scotland boss admitted it was a major blow that Tierney failed to recover from knee surgery.
Everton’s Nathan Patterson made the group, but is a major doubt while Billy Gilmour, who missed Chelsea’s final match against Norwich, has declared himself fit.
Clarke said: “We’ve known for weeks that Kieran wouldn’t make it but it’s a disappointment for everybody.
“He’s known the same so he got his head around it now and is working on his rehab to be ready for pre-season with Arsenal.
“It’s disappointing for Kieran and for us but it’s a chance for someone else.
“Nathan is slightly different. He’s on schedule. If you’re looking at it sensibly he will probably return to train with a group for the first time when he comes to join us.
“The Ukraine game is probably going to come too soon for him but you never know, he’s a young man, he might hit the ground running. We won’t rule him out completely.”
