WITH what was already an understrength squad when it was originally announced being weakened considerably by six call-offs, there is every chance Scotland will suffer another ignominious defeat when they face Peru in Lima on Tuesday evening.

Opponents who qualified for their first World Cup finals in 36 years after beating New Zealand in a play-off in November will be able to field their strongest available side and will be cheered on by a sell-out crowd of 45,000 in the National Stadium in what is their final warm-up match on home soil before departing for Russia 2018.

The mere mention of the South American nation still sends a shiver down the spines of any Tartan Army footsoldier old enough to remember the 3-1 loss their team suffered in the opening game of the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. This friendly encounter, though, has the potential to be every bit as painful.

Alex McLeish can still recall the game in Cordoba vividly some 40 years down the line. So he is under no illusions just how difficult the task facing his inexperienced side will be in what is just his third match in charged since he was appointed national team manager for a second time in February.

"I watched it,” he said. “I've been watching the World Cups since 1966. It was probably worse watching us getting gubbed by Peru than watching England win it. We went with the high expectations and you realise that they are not too bad a team actually. We find that out the hard way.”

Yet, McLeish was a beneficiary of the debacle in Argentina – he was handed the first of his 77 Scotland caps in a 4-1 win over Portugal aged just 21 little over a year later - and is convinced that many of those involved against Peru and Mexico on Saturday will further their cause at international level regardless of the scorelines.

“After the World Cup in 1978, it was a new era,” he said. “Jock Stein picked a few of the younger ones. It is always generally on the back of something that has not worked out that youngsters get their chance. Guys who have had a good season at club level, you find out can they make the leap to international level.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for the new guys to learn from a different experience. The motivation for them is obviously to win a Scotland cap, for some of them again, for some of them for the first time. I am sure that there will be immense pride in the guys that I am taking with me.

“We want them to be as comfortable as possible, for them to feel the way they feel at their clubs. There’ll be a lot of new faces, but it’s a great experience and we’ll ask them to embrace it. We’ll be working with them in terms of their confidence levels and their approach to the game.

“We are going to be playing against two highly-motivated teams out here. There are a lot of new guys in the squad that I have got. Peru and Mexico are highly skilful, they play at slow tempos in terms of possession, but in a flash they can turn the tide in terms of speed aspect.

“The challenge is for the guys to show they can compete with two teams going to the World Cup. That is the motivation. We are Scots and when we are backed into a corner we look to come out battling and scrapping. If the guys grab their opportunity then it is a win, win.”

The game against Mexico in front of 87,000 fans in the Azteca Stadium on Saturday has prompted Scotland to change their plans due to the altitude - Mexico City is more than 7000 feet above sea level – and they will now arrive the day before the game.

“It makes you feel a bit lethargic,” he said. “But Graeme Jones (SFA head of high performance) has been in touch with a lot of guys who work in his area on the science of it. We have been advised and we are going out to Mexico the day before because of the altitude. If you are there for longer that is where the lethargy creeps in.

“I spoke to Peter Vermes, Johnny Russell’s coach at Sporting Kansas City, and he said that is exactly the right way to do it. The MLS clubs play games in Colorado and that is what they do – they are in and they are out. We are hoping the boys can cope as well as they can with the heat, the pollution and the air in Mexico City.”

Russell, the former Dundee United and Derby County striker who moved to the United States in January, was a surprise inclusion in the Scotland squad, but McLeish is an admirer of the player, who will join up with the squad after the Peru match, and stressed he can expect to be involved going forward.

“He’s got a maturity and experience now,” he said. “He’s setting the place alight over there - and it’s no easy division he’s playing in. Some of the Mexicans are in there with him.

“Johnny joins us right in the middle of his season as well. He’s at his peak right now so I’m excited to see him in training and when he plays in one of the games. He’ll be a great option - he’s good good feet, he’s quick and lively and I’m sure he’ll bring his confidence into the camp.”

It is hard to be confident that Scotland will draw never mind win either of these friendly games due to the unfortunate circumstances they will be played in, but McLeish is optimistic that both he and the country will benefit in the long run regardless of what transpires.