Steve Clarke insists the ghosts of Georgia don't need exorcised at Hampden - because giving Scotland a better future than the past is the only thing driving him on.
A country that has wrecked previous campaigns in 2007 and 2015 stand between Clarke's men and four straight wins at the start of a qualifying campaign for the first time. And Clarke, while having total respect for Georgia, who beat Cyprus on Saturday, is adamant that previous defeats to them - both in Tbilisi - are irrelevant.
The Scotland boss, who has a full squad available to him, said: "Georgia doesn’t give me the collywobbles. At that particular time I was a little bit distant from the national team, because I was down south working with clubs. We have to concentrate on ourselves. That’s the only way I can put it. What happened in the past happened in the past. We have to make sure that the future is better than the past."
A win would make history but Clarke insists he isn't interested in that aspect of the upcoming 90 minutes. "I just want to win the next game," he added. "It doesn’t compute in my head. Maybe I am different. After you have done it you can say: ‘That was great, we did that’.
"But it is not at the forefront of my mind something like that. I just want to qualify from the group. If we get good points now and get good points in September or October or November...I don’t care when the points come.
"I just want to get the right amount of points to make sure we go to Germany. They come when they come. If it takes until the last game and we still qualify then that’s what we have to do. That doesn’t bother me. I just want to make sure that this group of lads go to another major tournament.”
Clarke knows the Tartan Army will fill every seat at the national stadium expecting another win after sensational victories over Cyprus, Spain and Norway provided the perfect platform for reaching Germany 2024. But the manager is determined to keep his squad's focus on getting the job done to further cement its position at the top of Group A.
He added: "They (the players) are still singing. I’ve heard them bursting into song every now and again. They are still happy, which is good. You want them to be happy, you want them to enjoy the result and be confident going into the game.
"But they understand the importance of the game coming up. The support has probably doubled since the time when I came in. People want to be here, they want to watch this team. Don’t underestimate how much the players enjoy it. They like coming here, human beings like to be loved.
"They walk out there and they get that big reception and the national anthem before the game and it makes the lads feel good. I think recent performances have shown that, so let’s get one more."
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