DURING his entire week in San Sebastian, David Moyes is engrossed in all things Spanish.

Whether it's watching Real Sociedad's next La Liga opponents on DVD, learning the language with his demanding tutor or sampling another tasty Basque speciality dish from the atmospheric pintxos bars, Moyes can't escape it.

But he does like to switch off now and again and turning his attention to the Scotland national team is something this proud Scotsman is more than happy to do.

He will watch Gordon Strachan's side on the television this week as they play Northern Ireland and then the Euro qualifier against Gibraltar.

Moyes has been a manager at the highest level for more than a decade at Everton, Manchester United and now La Real, and understands the scrutiny and intensity his contemporaries face from boardrooms, fans and media. That's why he has nothing but admiration for the job Strachan is doing.

The national team sit in a decent position in Group D, in third place with seven points from four games. The weekend's fixture should be comfortable. Moyes hopes so and believes Strachan and his players have the determination and ability to be at the party in 2016.

Moyes said: "Gordon is doing a fabulous job. He has everybody believing again but it's good that there is measured amount of optimism and nobody in the country has any stupid levels of expectation. We've had unrealistic ambitions in years gone by and it hasn't done us any favours.

"There is belief, and rightly so. I think we are introducing more and more young players and they have taken to it very well. The more experienced players are maturing nicely and a few of them having Champions League experience certainly helps.

"All things considered, Gordon is doing a quite brilliant job. The 1-0 win against Republic of Ireland was an important victory. Gordon will want to kick on and make sure there is a win on Sunday.

"But he doesn't have a magic wand.

"It's difficult being an international manager because you can't buy a new centre-half or a new left-back, you have to work with what you've got. That means you have to get the very best out of the players, try to improve them in order to maximise their standards when they play.

"I'm not going to add to the pressure by saying I expect Scotland to qualify. What I will say is that I hope they do.

"We last reached a finals 17 years ago and I was in France to support them. I was manager of Preston and also used it as an opportunity to enhance my knowledge by taking in games and sessions. If we qualify for 2016 I will be there again."

Moyes hopes two of his former players - Darren Fletcher and Steven Naismith - continue their good work at this level.

Moyes signed Naismith for Everton after Rangers went into liquidation and the player exercised his right to leave for no fee. It was a no-brainer to sign him under such circumstances. The versatile attacker is now valued in excess of £8m.

Moyes is delighted Darren Fletcher's back in the international fold after battling back from a chronic bowel disease. He worked with the midfielder at Old Trafford and has respect for him.

When Moyes lost his job at United in April of last year, Fletcher was one of the first on the phone to text offering sympathy and expressing regret at the way it all worked out.

He said: "Darren is a superb person and a great footballer. I had the pleasure of working with him and he was even better player than I thought. He was great in the dressing-room, trustworthy and had the best interests of the club at heart.

"His health problems were well documented but he never once complained. I hold Darren in high regard. I'm delighted he is relishing the responsibility of captaining West Brom.

"Stevie Naismith is a good lad. He really has come on leaps and bounds at Everton.

"It was always going to be difficult for him in his first year when he came from Rangers. But he has listened and developed into an important member of the Everton team because he can play a number of different roles.

"Gordon will be pleased to have guys such as Darren and Stevie. They are excellent senior professionals and the perfect examples for the new arrivals to learn from."

There is genuine feeling for the Scotland set-up from Moyes. Spending a few days in his company in San Sebastian made that clear. He and his assistant, Billy McKinlay, love nothing more than chewing the fat over issues in the game back home.

Both work well together and have lifted La Real into the top half of La Liga with excellent results, including a 1-0 defeat of Barcelona. Sunday night's 3-1 victory against Cordoba was their third win on the bounce and only an almighty collapse in their remaining 10 games would result in relegation.

The remit Moyes was given when he took over in mid-November was to avoid the drop at all costs. Real were fifth from bottom at that stage.

He is enjoying the challenge and is contracted until the summer of 2016. He would like to return to the UK at some stage and is currently bookies' favourite to take over from Sam Allardyce at West Ham United, but he is in no rush to leave Spain.

He said: "I'm enjoying life here and have really tried to make an effort to adapt to the local culture. It's very pleasant and everyone has been warm and courteous towards us. Billy and I both sense that the people really want us to do well. We're trying to make them happy.

"This is a big club and I can improve myself as a coach by being here. This job also helped me get over the disappointment of what happened at Manchester United. I felt this was as good a place as any to do just that. To come to La Real and work in La Liga has absolutely been the right decision."