Igor Stimac, the Croatia manager, has never shied away from controversy and sometimes his actions don't have too much to do with football.

Last month, he signed a petition calling for a nationwide referendum to define marriage as a "union between a man and a woman" in the Croatian constitution, one which would effectively prevent gay couples from marrying and adopting children. He was branded a "homophobe" by large sections of the society, while those who share his beliefs saluted the "courage" in promoting a controversial cause.

Then, ahead of the Scotland game, he took the national team to a largely Croat-populated area of Bosnia-Herzegovina, where they trained, hung out with fans and visited Medjugorje, a Catholic pilgrimage site. While they were there, the UN tribunal in the Hague announced the verdict in the case of six Bosnian Croat wartime leaders, finding them guilty for religiously motivated ethnic cleansing in a plan to create a Croat state in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Fearing riots, UEFA banned Stimac's team from playing a friendly against HSK Zrinjski, a club from the Croatian part of the now-divided city of Mostar, but it's hard to argue their presence there at this delicate time was not a politically charged decision.

On their last day of preparations in Herzegovina, dubbed the "love tour" by local media, Stimac appeared before the press with a rosary in his hand and said: "People here would never turn their backs on our team. Many in Croatia did, they didn't have faith in me . . . but they are changing their minds, too."

It was typical of Stimac's public appearances: part-martyr, part righteous patriotic evangelist – but always a fully-fledged populist. It's true that he started out his job with low approval ratings and the recurring them of Croatia's qualifying path so far has been one man's quest for love and acceptance. He has since managed to win over some of his critics, especially after coming out victorious from the grudge match with Serbia, while those who remain unconvinced can't argue with his competitive record – five wins and a draw in the qualifiers – although the doubt still lingers. Croatia rarely looked well-organised on the pitch and, if the truth be told, were rather lucky to get the results they did.

Scotland are next up and Stimac has been trying hard to prevent complacency from creeping into the minds of his players. The visitors may have no chance of qualification but the manager is quick to dismiss reports they're coming to Zagreb holding a white flag.

"They won't fool me," he said. "They can only be better. I know Gordon [Strachan] and, rest assured, he's coming here to win. He has to beat someone to prove he was given this job for a reason – but that must not be us."

The media in the country are very expectant when it comes to the national team. They don't seem fazed by the opponents or concerned with their gameplan but not all commentators are jumping the bandwagon. Sportske Novosti, the only daily sports newspaper in the country, warns that Croatia have never beaten Scotland; all three previous matches ended as draws.

The more experienced among the Croatia players have also protested against under-rating Scotland. "Caution, caution, caution," repeated captain, Shakhtar Donetsk's Darijo Srna. "That's what we should bare in mind at all times ahead of this game."

The veteran centre-back Joe Simunic, now in Dinamo Zagreb, concurs: 'We'll only win if we're concentrated 100%," he added.

Aleksandar Holiga is a freelance football writer. Follow him on Twitter @AlexHoliga