Scotland confident of success in Georgia

AFP, TBILISI: Scotland coach Stuart McCall says he is confident the national side can produce the results they need to fire them to Euro 2016 as they prepare to face Georgia in Tbilisi on Friday. Former Rangers manager McCall, who has been part of Scotland manager Gordon Strachan’s backroom staff since 2013, says the self-belief instilled in the squad by the boss can help them qualify for their first major finals since the 1998 World Cup.
Scotland currently sit third in qualifying Group D, three points behind surprise leaders Poland and two adrift of World Cup holders Germany, with those two sides facing each other in Frankfurt on Friday.
The Scots take on struggling Georgia and McCall believes victory in Tbilisi will be a massive step towards achieving that goal before they host the Germans at Hampden Park on Monday. “The confidence and belief comes from performances then results. We started poorly when we first came in,” McCall said of the start of Strachan’s reign during the ill-fated 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign.
“We had defeats against Wales and Serbia but then came little things like the victory in Croatia and good performances in other games. We won against Ireland and put in such a strong performance away to Poland. “What we now have is belief. The staff have belief, the players have belief in each other and the fans have belief. “It can soon change round, we know that, but we have a bit of confidence and everyone is in it together. We just have to produce the results now.”
Georgia sit second bottom of Group D and were defeated 1-0 on their visit to Glasgow last October. However, the Georgians have a new manager in Kakhaber Tskhadadze, who once played for Manchester City, and McCall thinks they will prove a tougher task on their own turf. “They have a new manager so they may have new ideas and a new system,” the Scotland coach said. “Georgia lost 4-0 to Poland in their last game but were only 1-0 down until the 89th minute then Robert Lewandowski got a hat-trick.
“They could quite easily have got a point off Poland. Yes they’ve lost a couple of players but they’re still dangerous opposition and we have to treat them like that.” Scotland’s Euro 2008 dream was derailed by a 2-0 defeat away to Georgia but McCall believes a draw would not be a bad result for Scotland ahead of Monday’s visit of the world champions, before the remaining double-header in October against Poland and minnows Gibraltar.
“If we do get a point it could be a good point if we go on to beat Poland,” said McCall. “It’s a game we’re looking to win, all our rivals have been there and won. It’s certainly the intention we go there and be positive. “It’ll be tight, I don’t think there’ll be many goals in it. As long as we get more than them I’ll be happy.”
Celtic midfielder Stuart Armstrong and Ipswich Town defender Christophe Berra were both forced to withdraw from the squad through injury but McCall says there are no fresh injury concerns.

 

Scotland confident of success in Georgia

AFP, TBILISI: Scotland coach Stuart McCall says he is confident the national side can produce the results they need to fire them to Euro 2016 as they prepare to face Georgia in Tbilisi on Friday. Former Rangers manager McCall, who has been part of Scotland manager Gordon Strachans backroom staff since 2013, says the self-belief instilled in the squad by the boss can help them qualify for their first major finals since the 1998 World Cup. Scotland currently sit third in qualifying Group D, three points behind surprise leaders Poland and two adrift of World Cup holders Germany, with those two sides facing each other in Frankfurt on Friday. The Scots take on struggling Georgia and McCall believes victory in Tbilisi will be a massive step towards achieving that goal before they host the Germans at Hampden Park on Monday. The confidence and belief comes from performances then results. We started poorly when we first came in, McCall said of the start of Strachans reign during the ill-fated 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign. We had defeats against Wales and Serbia but then came little things like the victory in Croatia and good performances in other games. We won against Ireland and put in such a strong performance away to Poland. What we now have is belief. The staff have belief, the players have belief in each other and the fans have belief. It can soon change round, we know that, but we have a bit of confidence and everyone is in it together. We just have to produce the results now. Georgia sit second bottom of Group D and were defeated 1-0 on their visit to Glasgow last October. However, the Georgians have a new manager in Kakhaber Tskhadadze, who once played for Manchester City, and McCall thinks they will prove a tougher task on their own turf. They have a new manager so they may have new ideas and a new system, the Scotland coach said. Georgia lost 4-0 to Poland in their last game but were only 1-0 down until the 89th minute then Robert Lewandowski got a hat-trick. They could quite easily have got a point off Poland. Yes theyve lost a couple of players but theyre still dangerous opposition and we have to treat them like that. Scotlands Euro 2008 dream was derailed by a 2-0 defeat away to Georgia but McCall believes a draw would not be a bad result for Scotland ahead of Mondays visit of the world champions, before the remaining double-header in October against Poland and minnows Gibraltar. If we do get a point it could be a good point if we go on to beat Poland, said McCall. Its a game were looking to win, all our rivals have been there and won. Its certainly the intention we go there and be positive. Itll be tight, I dont think therell be many goals in it. As long as we get more than them Ill be happy. Celtic midfielder Stuart Armstrong and Ipswich Town defender Christophe Berra were both forced to withdraw from the squad through injury but McCall says there are no fresh injury concerns.