Craig Levein is well aware Scotland cannot afford to repeat their Hampden performance against Liechtenstein in the return meeting in Vaduz. Levein's men had to rely on a 97th-minute header from defender Stephen McManus to beat the Group I minnows 2-1 in the first meeting in the EURO2012 qualifier in September last year.
Scotland go into the return game in Liechtenstein in a precarious position, two points behind second-placed Czech Republic with both countries having two games left to play. Levein's men have their final game against runaway group winners Spain in Alicante on Tuesday night, while the Czechs play Spain in Prague tonight before finishing their campaign in Lithuania. Scotland have to win on Saturday to have a realistic chance of making the play-offs and many pundits and Tartan Army members are taking that outcome for granted. However, Levein insists that will require improvement from the last game between the two countries when McManus's last-gasp header spared a nation's blushes.
He said: "We don't really need any evidence to show that if we are not at our best then we won't be successful because the last time we played them we weren't at our best and we struggled to beat to beat them at home. And if we put in a performance like that this time, we won't beat them. I am not worried about the pundits and fans, how they view Liechtenstein doesn't have an effect on how we play. What I'm really concerned about is that we make sure that the players and I understand the nature of what we are facing. I get the chance to see Liechtenstein regularly. They have taken four points off Lithuania, the same as we have, and were very unlucky recently against Switzerland. There is an understanding in their team which makes it very difficult to break them down. The good things for me is that we have a good group of players who don't take their foot off the gas. I can say that there hasn't been a game when I felt that we weren't 100% on it, and that's what we need to be, focused, and play the game with an intensity. If we don't move the ball quickly then we will struggle."
Levein knows there is little else he can do but wait to see what the next few days bring but is unwilling to offer "false hope" of his captain Darren Fletcher being available for the Spain game and insists he will not gamble with Kenny Miller. Levein said: "I thank Darren for every match because he is our captain and arguably our best player. So I would like to have him available. Every time he is not available, it is a blow for us. He is improving, I spoke to him last night and he is feeling better so I'm hopeful but I would not want to give anyone false hope. Kenny Miller is also improving. He will train on Friday but I won't take a chance."