IT seems remarkable that we could actually be approaching the last few weeks of Gordon Strachan’s tenure as Scotland manager. Were we not only just getting going? Strachan, naturally, won’t be drawn on his future at this juncture but should the national team fall short in their stated aim to qualify for next summer’s European Championships, then it is not beyond the realms of possibility that the head coach may decide to call it a day and let someone else have a shot.

The Scottish Football Association don’t want Strachan’s reign to end this way. And he won’t want that either. Which is all a bit of a circuitous route into highlighting just how significant Thursday’s match against Poland at Hampden has become. Scotland have to secure at least a draw, probably a victory, if they are to retain a chance of reaching Euro 2016. A defeat and what had started out as the most promising opportunity in years will fizzle out just like the rest over the past two decades. The idea of starting anew in a World Cup qualifying campaign with an even slimmer chance of reaching the finals – just 13 European places are available, compared to 24 in France next summer – might not appeal to a manager who has devoted so much to this particular cause over the past few years.

So, it has effectively become Poland or bust, and in more ways than one. The Republic of Ireland could yet render Scotland’s efforts meaningless by defeating either Germany at home or the Poles in Warsaw but that is a side issues that Strachan and his players can’t become distracted by. It is Poland they must focus on and that will prove challenging enough.

Poland are not the greatest side in the world – they are ranked three places below Scotland in the latest list – but they have a world-class talent in Robert Lewandowski, a striker in the most lethal run of scoring form since Hot Shot Hamish hung up his size 16 boots. They boast a decent ensemble cast including Ajax’s Arek Milik, Jakub “Kuba” Blaszczykowski of Fiorentina, and his former Borussia Dortmund team-mate Lukasz Piszczek, but it is undoubtedly to Lewandowski they will turn as they look to clinch their own place at Euro 2016. A striker seemingly capable of winning matches at any level – whether in the Bundesliga, Champions League or for his country – is an asset to be naturally cherished.

It is not something that Strachan has at his disposal. The national team’s recent successes have tended to be a collective affair, perhaps a goal secured from a set play backed up by some stoic defending. There have been a few moments of individual genius – think Ikechi Anya’s goal away to Germany and Shaun Maloney’s terrific finish against the Irish at Celtic Park – but, that aside, this is not a team with a world-class talent standing head and shoulders above the rest. There is no Gareth Bale. No Thomas Mueller. No Wayne Rooney. No Lewandowski. If it is still scoreless in a game with 10 minutes to go, Strachan knows he can’t turn to a talisman and say, “go on and win it for us”. If Scotland are to carve out the win they so badly crave on Thursday night, it will likely need to be another hard-fought effort.

"We've got some good players there,” said Strachan of his squad “But world-class? No. I look at other squads and they are all in Champions League football. We have a problem there.

“Shaun has pulled us out with a couple of good things recently but it's very hard to keep looking at the one guy and go, “okay, you do it again”. It would be nice if other people took that mantle and there are guys capable of producing that. Anya against Germany [was terrific] but that was six passes [leading to the goal].

“If you look at our goals, we have nobody like Bale or Lewandowski. Everything has to be worked as a group and within that you have six more chances of it breaking down if it's a six-pass move. Some guys just pick it up and go, bang, goal. That can be our problem at times. We have to work at everything we've got. There has to be a lot of passes or work at a set-play or something like that. I don't think there are many genius goals we have seen in the last couple of years where somebody gets it, rolls somebody, beats two and whacks it in the back of the net. Maybe James McFadden in France. That was maybe the last time we saw a real genius-type goal as an individual or somebody beating two or three people and finishing it off. We can't just make a Gareth Bale or people like that who produce something from nowhere.”

Strachan believes Mueller is the “best all-round player I have seen” and thinks Scotland have forwards with elements of the German’s talent but not all the full deal.

“We have players who can do this, or that or that, but there isn't one with the whole package,” he lamented. "Maybe someone is too small to play in the team because we have a small team and we need a bit of height up front. We might need someone to keep the ball, runs in behind but can’t keep the ball. We don't have one of them who can do all of that.”

James Morrison’s suspension could precipitate a recall for West Brom team-mate, Darren Fletcher. “He’s definitely in the plans,” said Strachan. “It’s been hard for him and I know that and understand that. But it’s like most things - if you treat the squad right then you will get the benefit.”