Concerned Scotland Under-21 boss Scot Gemmill admits his new recruits have 90 minutes to overcome their teething troubles.
Gemmill handed out debuts to 14 players in the first of two behind-closed-door friendlies with Northern Ireland at Dumbarton's C&G Stadium.
But the Scots' lack of experience at this level shone through as they suffered a 2-1 defeat.
Goals from Dale Taylor and Barry Baggley handed Andy Crosby's team victory, with Glenn Middleton - one of just two players in the Dark Blues' starting line-up who had previously been capped - netting a penalty in reply.
The teams will meet again on Saturday, but Gemmill is looking for a major improvement as he eyes up September's opening European Championship qualifiers, with the Scots facing tricky away trips to Turkey and Denmark.
Gemmill said: "If you put the game in context it was very difficult for them as a few of the boys finished their season four weeks ago, others three weeks ago.
"So it's difficult to get back up to speed. I don't think we played at the right intensity, which you could see.
"And it was a new group with new players and that was all visible from the performance, unfortunately.
"But it's great to be back working with the group and we're looking forward to trying to improve the squad and the players - but the performance does show there is a lot of work to be done.
"Was this a chance to get over those teething troubles before September? Absolutely.
"We have a few players who we haven't worked with before who are trying to find their feet.
"We're trying to see who we can trust moving forward. We will analyse today's game and see who is ready to play and who isn't for Saturday."
One of the players handed his chance to impress was Athletic Bilbao B forward Ewan Urain.
It was the 21-year-old - who qualifies thanks to his Lockerbie-born mother - who won Scotland's penalty after luring Kofi Balmer into a foul, and Gemmill was impressed by the big striker.
He said: "He doesn't know the players, myself or the staff. We just met up on Sunday. I thought he did great and I'm really looking forward to seeing what he can add to the squad."
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