The precise battle city of ''Gerrintaethem'' remained unspoken but Peter Houston, assistant manager, did call for the Scotland team ''to get up and at them'' as he pondered the visit of Serbia to Hampden on Saturday in the first of the Group A World Cup qualifiers.
Houston and Craig Levein, the Scotland manager, have earned their considerable reputations by being precise in tactical deployment and innovative in formation.
However, Houston was unapologetic about his desire to see Scotland, well, get stuck in against Serbia and then Macedonia on Tuesday. This imperative was no doubt moulded by Scotland's stuttering start to the qualification campaign for this year's European Championships and the caution also displayed against Spain at Hampden and against the Czechs in Prague.
The 4-6-0 night in September 2010 against the Czechs, of course, can not be mentioned in any polite circles containing Scotland coaching staff. It would be akin, in terms of gross discourtesy, to asking Levein if he had watched Steven Fletcher on Match of the Day on Saturday.
The lessons of reverses in the crucial matches have stayed with the management team and they seem determined not to watch their players stand back and admire the possession play of Serbia, Macedonia, Belgium, Croatia or Wales.
''The biggest thing for me is us being as positive as hell as regards Saturday's match,'' said Houston at the team's hotel in Erskine yesterday.
''We have to have the Tartan Army behind us and when you ask what the best way to get the fans to respond, the answer is to get up and at them. We have to be sensible, of course, but if we allow them to dictate the play early doors they'll gain confidence from passing the ball about. In the Spain game at Hampden, we gave them too much respect in the opening half hour or maybe the first half, but then we got in about them.
''We've got to do that against Serbia – not give them time on the ball and pressurise them for two things. You maybe win the ball back and secondly, when your supporters see that's the way you're going about it, they get a lift from it. We have to make sure we don't go kamikaze . . . but our aim is to make sure that our players have a right go.''
Houston then went on to expound on how teams in the SPL ''got fired in to one another'' and how there was a balance to be struck between aggression and composure.
''I think we can mix it up a wee bit. We've got players who are comfortable and can take it and use it.''
The message seems straightforward but the employment of both personnel and the deployment of tactics may need some more sophisticated reflection.
Houston, of course, knows this and after the gung-ho message for the fans he hinted at some of the dilemmas that would persist until Levein names his team.
The Dundee United manager admitted there was a temptation to employ Gary Caldwell, the Wigan Athletic captain, in a holding role in front of the back four.
"One of the biggest highlights of the Australia game was his performance,'' said Houston of last month's friendly.
''It would be lovely to play him there but we have to assess things. Certainly, Gary's performance has given us food for thought."
Scotland, of course, may need Caldwell in the centre of defence as Christophe Berra's partner awaits the birth of their child.
There is also a decision to be made in the striking role. It seems likely that Levein will opt for Kenny Miller rather than Jordan Rhodes as his lone striker.
Houston said nothing to suggest there would be a dramatic introduction of the £8m Blackburn Rovers signing in place of the striker now plying his trade in the MLS with Vancouver Whitecaps.
Serbia, too, have been studied with a view to a match where Scotland will have to use technique as well as employ spirit.
The visitors have installed Sinisa Mihajlovic as their manager and it has been a change that has caused some turbulence. Scotland's scouts have watched Serbia play 3-4-3 and 4-3-3 in matches against Spain, France and the Republic of Ireland. They can boast players of the calibre of Zoran Tosic, the former Manchester United winger now at CSKA Moscow, Branislav Ivanovic, of Chelsea, and Aleksandar Kolarov, of Manchester City.
''They're dangerous at set plays, they're a big side, they pass the ball well – but only if they're allowed to do it. We're at our best when we press the game, force them into errors and get the ball back,'' said Houston.
''Craig was talking to Miodrag Krivokapic, who's a youth coach at Celtic, and he says that there's a wee bit of uncertainty within the squad – but it doesn't make them bad players. We can't think that they've got an unsettled camp with a new manager coming in. I think he's used 39 players in four games, which is a lot, but it's maybe what Craig did at the start with the Scotland squad.''
Houston has been at Levein's side since the latter became manager in December 2009 and reflected on the intervening years.
"It took a wee while for us to get the group of players Craig wanted. I think we've got our group, but the door is always open for the likes of a Jordan Rhodes,'' he said.
"They have now played with each other for a number of games and they know the system. We've had to teach the boys what is expected of them, so we have an advantage that we have been through all that and it is second nature to the players. Maybe the Serbian manager is still working on what his best shape is.''
His message was unequivocal. ''We want to hit the ground running this time,'' he said. ''We have a group of players who can be as good as Serbia and Macedonia on the day. We look forward to the challenge and don't fear it."
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