Fixtures

Just looking at Scotland's remaining qualifying fixtures..

14 November, 2014
R of Ireland (h)

29 March, 2015
Gibraltar (h)

13 June, 2015
R of Ireland (a)

4 September, 2015
Georgia (a)

7 September, 2015
Germany (h)

8 October, 2015
Poland (h)

11 October, 2015
Gibraltar (a)

Our next three games will make or break our campaign. Realistically we have to get 7points minimum, sticking a heap of goals past Gibraltar while we're at it.

This makes tomorrow's game all the more important. If we lose it, the country will be on a bit of a downer and we'll have effectively gifted Ireland 6 points, and Poland 3 if they win their game.

Hopefully the Gibraltar game will come at a good time, when players are well into their season (with hopefully not too many injuries). There is the flip side that players could have one eye on their domestic seasons if they are in relegation scraps or in with a chance of winning titles.

And then playing Ireland again in June isn't ideal. Many if not all our players will be on holiday, or certainly won't have played a competitive game for about 3-4 weeks. Ireland will obviously be in the same boat, and it gives previously injured players a chance to recover, but again it isn't ideal.

Here's hoping we can do it and keep the country involved with the national side deep into next year. There's nothing like the optimism that's shared amongst Scots, fans of all clubs, when the national team are playing well and looking like achieving something.. That game a few years ago against Italy was special. Inverness was the busiest I've possibly ever seen it, nightclubs showing the game on big screens, packed to the rafters.

C'mon Scotland, give us a few more games like that