Spiers on Sport: Can Gordon Strachan deliver Scotland from time-honoured failure in qualifiers?

A quick glance at the Group D table shows that, for the seventh successive campaign, a Scotland manager and his team are frantically scrambling to grab some possible side-entrance to a major championship finals.

Since attempting to qualify for Euro 2004 in Portugal, Scotland have finished 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd and 4th in successive campaigns.

Here are Strachan and Scotland, currently lying 4th in their group, with two games left in which to finish third and salvage a play-off spot – a means denied every other recent Scottish manager due to an expanded European Championship that is now 50% bigger with 24 finalists.

I like and admire Strachan but I’m not sure this represents the rampant progress that is often touted in our media. That said, we might have clearer evidence after Thursday evening’s 90 minutes against the Poles.

A win for the Scots would certainly be a boost, though even then we’d be left at the mercy of what Ireland might achieve in their closing two fixtures.

Progress or not, Scotland as usual are making an emotional upheaval of it all. There is a second-rateness about the team – there has been for 10 years – which is established in results and is a fact which lies heavy in the hearts of the Tartan Army.

A good manager – and Strachan is that – can sometimes compensate for or even elevate the limitations of his squad. In the main, though, the old rule of football management applies: you are only as good as your players.

Everyone has their thoughts on what Strachan should do with Scotland’s line-up against Poland. In one sense it is a non-debate: about nine of the players are shoo-ins agreed by almost everybody.

This is the thing: what to do about Scotland’s attack?

Personally, I would like to see Strachan be bold and play Leigh Griffiths off Steven Fletcher in attack. I have five reasons for promoting this startlingly unoriginal thought.

First, as much as I admire Fletcher, he is not a goalscorer for Scotland, and we will need goals against Poland.

Second, I actually believe that Griffiths, who has goals pouring out of him, would greatly benefit from Fletcher’s creativity beside him.

Third, I think it will be enough for Scotland to have eight players defending against Poland – two tight banks of four, if you will – which still allows for greater scope in the final third.

Fourth, I think Strachan’s team will need a sharper edge at Hampden. Poland are the most prolific scorers in the group on 22. It is hard to conceive of them having a barren night in Glasgow.

Fifth, despite playing 4-2-3-1 (the fashion these days) it will be nothing to any of these Scotland players to revert to a 4-4-2. It is in the British blood. Talk of “a shock to the system” in Scotland going to 4-4-2 is absurd.

This is a game for the Scotland manager to improvise. His players might not be world-beaters but no simple change of system is going to bamboozle them. It would be good to see Griffiths get as much game-time as his manager dares allow.

Of course, having said all this, Strachan won’t do it. I very much doubt he will start with Griffiths. He will play with two anchor midfielders and just one spearhead striker: 4-2-3-1 rather than 4-4-2.

Either system could win or lose on the night. And “systems” – I concede – are over-stated. I just hope Scotland win.

Scotland can certainly take heart from their 2-2 draw in Warsaw 12 months ago. But what they cannot draw much comfort from is the current rampant form of Robert Lewandowski.

This Polish assassin, if not marshalled properly, could run riot through the weakest part of this Scotland team – its defence. Unfortunately, in football, you’re not allowed two goalkeepers.

Scotland, somehow, need to block Lewandowski’s path, by fair means or foul.

Let’s see where this Scotland qualifying campaign rests in four days’ time. We will be in a better position then to measure Gordon Strachan’s rampant progress.

On that subject, I sincerely hope my caution is misplaced.