Last updated : 08 November 2017 By ed_ScottishFitba
Scotland hope to end the year unbeaten as they prepare to play the Netherlands at Pittodrie tomorrow night. Like Scotland, the Dutch are hurting from missing out on qualification for the 2018 World Cup finals and Dick Advocaat’s squad will be looking to take out their disappointment against Scotland which will be managed by Malky Mackay for the first time. The SFA Performance Director has taken on the interim role for the first Scotland game at Pittodrie since 2013 when the hosts overcame Estonia.
Scotland have lost Leigh Griffiths and Darren Fletcher from the squad with Mackay's squad including new faces in the shape of Ryan Christie, Jason Cummings and Paul Hanlon. Advocaat’s squad have lost Vincent Janssen, Jurgen Locadia and Bas Dost due to injuries. Not that the Dutch are short of key players to call on such as Wesley Sneijder and Steven Berghuis, who have returned to the squad, while Danny van de Beek has been given another chance to earn his first cap.
Interim manager Mackay said: "The team have been excellent in everything we’ve asked them to do this week. The sessions have been sharp and full of quality with everyone gelling well for the first time. This is not a friendly for us, this is the start of our preparation for qualifying for Euro 2020. As a player I saw the Tartan Army travel in their numbers and the fact a big crowd is expected tomorrow night is brilliant and I can only thank them for that. The fans will see an athletic team and players who are trying to grasp their opportunity to become a Scotland internationalist for the foreseeable future. We’ve got to keep striving to see what the next generation is capable of. I want to create a club atmosphere around camp like some other countries possess. When I was at Cardiff City Gary Medel always talked about how close knit a group his Chile team were and that’s something for us to aspire to. When the players go back to their club, I want them to be desperate to come back to international duty. The Dutch beat Sweden 2-0 in their last game and we’re expecting a really tough match against a side led by a brilliant manager. This is a good challenge for our young players."
From the player's perspective Stuart Armstrong said: "There has been a few new faces introduced into the squad this week so it’s been about gelling new and old together, taking on new ideas ahead of the game. With any new players that come into the squad they want to impress and be part of a good Scotland team going forward. You’ve got to take the positives from the last campaign as well as some lessons to learn. Life must go one though so we now need to focus on what is up next. The game against the Netherlands is a chance for us to continue the momentum as we are currently undefeated this year."
