Scotland defender Russell Martin says a surprise result from next month’s game against England at Wembley could go some way towards repairing the damage already done in their World Cup qualifying campaign.
The hopes of Gordon Strachan’s men ending Scotland’s 18-year wait to reach a major tournament have suffered a major blow after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Lithuania at Hampden Park and Tuesday’s 3-0 loss in Slovakia.
Despite those set-backs, Scotland are only three points off Group F leaders England and one point from second, due to the inconsistency of other sides in the section.
Next up for Scotland is a keenly-anticipated fixture against England in London and Norwich City’s Martin says upsetting the odds against Gareth Southgate’s side would help restore the faith of the Tartan Army.
Martin said: “Saturday’s result against Lithuania was obviously disappointing for everyone and then the Slovakia game was tough to take.
“We’ve still got massive belief, though. We’re three points off the top, and one off second. That’s the aim, so we’ve got a massive game coming up in November.
“We need a big result at some point in the group but everyone is taking points off each other, so if we can get that result in the next game at Wembley the tide turns and everyone is back behind us.”
Tuesday’s result against Slovakia in Trnava has prompted doubts over the long-term future of manager Strachan.
But Martin says the former Celtic manager is still the right man for the job, although he reckons his approach could change for the trip to top seeds England.
Martin added: “We believe in each other, we believe in the manager and we believe in what we’re doing.
“We’re trying to be brave and pass the ball. It’s not going to be brilliant every time, but we try and do it, and we’ll stick with that I’m sure.
“The tactics might change against England, of course, but we’ll go there full of belief we can get something.
“It’s tough but I could see out there that lads were working hard for each other. It’s not through lack of effort, that’s for sure.”
