GORDON Strachan could freshen up his Scotland side for their final Russia 2018 qualifier against Slovenia here in Ljubljana tomorrow evening by drafting in John McGinn or Callum McGregor.
Strachan, whose side beat Slovakia 1-0 on Thursday night to move into second place in Group F, recognises the nerve-wracking game at Hampden has taken a lot out of his players both physically and mentally.
The 60-year-old has admitted he may tinker with his starting line-up to ensure there is no drop-off in performance levels – something which has been an issue in the second leg of double headers during this campaign.
The national side need to win the game in the Skozice Stadium to finish runners-up in their section and secure a World Cup play-off spot.
The eight best-placed runners-up in the nine UEFA qualifying groups will go through and at the moment Scotland are in sixth place and would be in the mix.
Asked if McGinn and McGregor had a chance of being involved, Strachan said: “Of course they have. If we have another two out we can call on them. That shows you how strong that area (midfield) is. There are some bumps and bruises, but they kept playing.”
A Martin Skrtel own goal with little over a minute of regulation time remaining on Thursday night gave Scotland the victory and three points they needed to keep their World Cup hopes alive.
But Strachan revealed his men put their celebrations on hold following the epic win in order to focus on triumphing in their final Russia 2018 qualifier against Slovenia.
“There was a satisfaction, no euphoria,” he said. “It was just satisfaction, a quiet satisfaction. Seriously. There was no singing and dancing and high five hand-slapping. It really was just a glow of satisfaction.
“What does that tell me? That they know the game is Slovenia is going to be big. That they need to be ready. Fletch (Darren Fletcher) was in there saying ‘right lads, we need to be prepared’. You can tell by the reaction. They thought: ‘That was great, but there’s a big one coming’.”
Strachan, whose side has beaten Slovenia, Lithuania, Malta and Slovakia and drawn with England in their five Russia 2018 qualifiers this year, is hoping the momentum Scotland have built up will enable them to achieve their objective.
“That helps,” he said. “The England game helped as well, that helps. Scoring against Slovenia, it all helps. Each of these victories help. And what also helps is that the 14 players played well.”
The 60-year-old also paid tribute to the professionalism of the national team’s players who weren’t involved on Thursday evening – Hibernian full-back Steven Whittaker and injured duo Stuart Armstrong and Scott Brown.
“But the rest of the squad this week have been terrific. I had to say to Steven Whittaker ‘you’re not getting stripped’ and that’s a horrible thing. He took it brilliantly. It never affected him, he came in the dressing room talking to players.
“Then you’ve got Brown and Armstrong turning up sitting in front of the guys ready to go. It’s good stuff that. Every bit helps. Every bit of camaraderie.”
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