WHEN Alex McLeish last visited Albania, way back in 1982 early on in Aberdeen’s successful European Cup Winners’ Cup campaign, there was a failed attempt to overthrow the ruling communist regime.

“Apparently two guys came ashore on a boat and got shot,” he said after returning to the country for the first time since the second leg of that first round tie against Dinamo Tirana yesterday.

“That was the end of it. We were oblivious to it all. We had our pre-match meal and then played the game. But there was a headline in the papers in Scotland about a coup taking place. Our wives couldn’t make contact with us. They were frantically trying to get through to the British Embassy to find out what was going on.”

On this visit, McLeish himself needs to oversee a result that will go some way towards ensuring he is not deposed as leader of the national team amid a growing unrest among the masses who follow their fortunes.

The Nations League game against Albania in the Loro Borici Stadium in Shkoder this evening is unusual for a competitive fixture because Scotland can lose it and still top Group C1 and secure a Euro 2020 play-off spot. Victory could very well be meaningless. The match against Israel at Hampden on Tuesday evening is the crucial one in this double header.

Nevertheless, McLeish needs a solid showing and a good result to quell a disharmony among their support, many of whom were sceptical when he was appointed manager for a second time way back in February, and make sure his charges are in a good place going into their next outing.

The dire display and loss against in Haifa last month has increased the pressure on him significantly after some less than convincing showings and reverses in friendly matches, not least the heavy reverse to Belgium back in September, and there is widespread unhappiness in the stands.

The fact that he has used no fewer than 41 players since taking over, has blooded a raft of young and untried professionals, has not been able to select several experienced older men and has only had two competitive fixtures, one of which his team won comfortably, hasn’t spared him from scathing criticism and intense scrutiny.

The former Motherwell, Hibernian, Rangers, Birmingham City and Aston Villa manager, appreciates how, in this social media age, cutthroat his business can be.

He knows, too, what the reaction to failure will be – there will be calls for him to be replaced before the Euro 2020 qualifying campaign gets underway next year – even though no fewer than nine players have pulled out of his squad.

“I can understand the fickleness of football these days,” he said. “It isn’t easy for coaches and managers to accept it the way it is.

“Put it into perspective; it will have been four competition games that I would have played. That’s it. Every other one was a friendly and four or five of the teams were a wee bit out of our league.

“I look at it in that perspective. I just go forward with resilience, I use that word quite a lot. I believe and trust in this squad. Despite the call-offs, there is terrific camaraderie among the guys who have come to play for Scotland.”

McLeish added: “That (to call for the manager to be replaced) is the instinct everywhere when there are four or five bad results.

“But we are still aspiring. I have tried a lot of players. We have chopped and changed a little bit. In the last game we showed faith from the Albania game to the game in Israel and there were contrasting performances.

“Getting consistency is the thing and consistency of selection is very important. You try to get a rhythm and an understanding with each other. The more we play the better that understanding will be.”

Suffering a heavy defeat in the Loro Borici Stadium in Shkoder this evening will be damaging, but not fatal, to Scotland’s prospects as goal difference may decide which of the three teams involved progresses. McLeish, though, will not prioritise the Israel match.

“You can’t think like that,” he said. “There is no way we can plan and say ‘right, I’ll keep you for that next game’. We have to do it as professionally as possible and concentrate on getting a really positive result in Albania."

The loss of Kieran Tierney yesterday – the Celtic left back was advised to withdraw by medical staff and his club - is a blow to Scotland’s chances of as he was set to revert to right back in a four man back line following the withdrawal of Stephen O’Donnell.

Bringing Callum Paterson, who has been operating in a more advanced role for Cardiff City this season, at right back is one option available to McLeish as is playing either David Bates, the Hamburg centre half who is uncapped and was omitted from the original squad, or Jack Hendry, another late call-up, there.

Alternatively, McLeish could field a three man defence with captain Andy Robertson and James Forrest as wing backs. There is no obvious solution to the problem. But it is in situations like these that a manager earns his money.

“A win would change the mood,” he said. “We know what good positive results do for the country. We want to give the fans something to cheer at the end of the game and really enjoy what they have seen.

“There’s a lot of goodwill and understanding that I’m trying to build something. There’s a positive perspective on the streets. I’m happy to keep going to do something for the national team and for Scotland.”

The 0-0 draw that Aberdeen recorded against Dinamo Tirana some 36 years ago meant they went through to the next round of a competition they went on and won.

Alex McLeish is hoping a similar outcome can have the same impact on Scotland going forward. The circumstances are far from ideal, but his future depends on it.