John Carver believes Scotland can still avoid Nations League relegation and claim second place in their group.
Armed with just one point from four games, Steve Clarke’s side sit bottom of Group A1 and need to win their final fixtures against Croatia at Hampden, then Poland in Warsaw, to have any chance of snatching an unlikely runners-up spot.
Failure to come out on top in at least one of the two games would see the Scots relegated to Group B and extend the current run of results to one win in 18 games and no wins in 12.
Encouraged by last month’s battling 0-0 draw against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, Carver has called on the national team to finish their campaign with a bang.
‘I think we’re in a position where we’ve got two games to go and it’s still all to play for,’ said Carver. ‘I think we can be encouraged by the performances.
‘We should be sitting here with more points, that’s a fact, so I think there’s a confidence within the group of saying: “Right, we’ve got two games to go, it’s all to play for”.
Ryan Gauld and John Souttar go through their paces in training ahead of the double header
Scots assistant Carver believes his side can realistically target wins over Croatia and Poland
The squad stretch their legs at a foggy City Stadium, formerly known as Lesser Hampden
‘I think there’s an outside chance if results went our way — for example, we won both games — we might have a chance of finishing second.
‘I keep saying this, you benefit well playing against the best teams, the best players, and our young players will develop.’
Hopes of going out on a high have been damaged by the withdrawal of attackers Che Adams and Lewis Morgan. Midfielder Stuart Armstrong, 32, returns to the squad for the first time since his summer move to Vancouver Whitecaps.
The loss of Adams, in particular, comes as a blow at a time when Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland has scored just one goal in 18 games. Tommy Conway has scored five in 12 with Championship side Middlesbrough, while Lyndon Dykes has failed to score a League One goal at Birmingham.
Expressing confidence in Shankland’s ability to nick a goal for the national team, Carver said: ‘We had Alan Irvine and Chris Woods at the Rangers game at the weekend, and they came back and said that the only thing that was missing was a goal, because his all-round performance was good.
Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Stuart Armstrong has been drafted into the squad
‘He’d come in a little bit deeper, and he’s trying to get involved in the game, but his overall performance was very good at the weekend, so it was encouraging.’
Three points behind third-placed Poland — 3-2 winners in the opening game at Hampden — the odds on the Scots snatching second place on goal difference remain high. After a narrow defeat to Croatia in Zagreb and a point against Portugal, however, Carver refuses to give up hope.
‘We have to rely on what happens elsewhere, but I think the most important thing is that we focus on what we’re trying to do,’ added Carver.
‘It’s important we get something out of the first game, then we can see where the second game takes us. But we’re in a good space.’
