Three times the sentence escaped from the mouth of Andy Robertson in the space of three short minutes very little Scottish.
Three times, three minutes and only three words.
“At hand.”
It’s a quintessential Scottish trait to not just see the worst in every opportunity, but to actively seek it out. At the top of the group, yes, but Georgia have one game less. Spain has two. Four wins out of four? Well, yes, but we have three away games left. Cyprus can be a bit muggy in September.
All the waves of doubt that would normally race through your average Scottish fan’s brain like water being swept from a Hampden pitch by a drookit ball kid.
Yet even after a night that proved anything can happen in football, an evening where reality was suspended for around 90 minutes, there was not a drop of doubt to be mopped up in the wake of the club’s latest triumph. Scotland.
“It puts us within easy reach, we can’t deny that,” the 29-year-old Scotland captain told BBC Scotland after his side 2-0 win over Georgia.
“Twelve points from four games, we couldn’t have asked for a better start. We’re halfway through the campaign, we’re top of the group, the two people we’re challenging with, we’ve got eight points. ahead of them with four games to go.
“We have to start now and believe that we can qualify. We are in pole position. We are within reach.
“We will come back in September and we have to start away from home and get a good result. If we do that, I think we are almost there.”
“I think they refused to come out”
There was urgency about Scotland, even on the longest nights.
Callum McGregor pushed the hosts to Hampden into an early lead. It would take over 90 minutes before a competition ball was kicked again.
Robertson was at the heart of the back and forth. The Liverpool left-back was part of the initial talks with the referee before the players were first greeted as he was visibly frustrated with the Georgians’ reluctance, perhaps sensing an opportunity for a game behind closed doors the following day. , to show willingness for the game to resume.
This hunger for Scotland is indicative of the heart that manager Steve Clarke has supercharged in them. His men wanted this game to be played, they wanted three more points which they were sure would be theirs, they wanted to take a step closer to Germany.
“We are obviously extremely disappointed with what happened,” Robertson said. “We thank the ground staff and the ball boys who helped make this game possible, the fans staying with us as well. In the last 10 minutes we know the place is emptying as they have to bring the trains home and we appreciate that.
“We kept going out because we wanted the game to be played. We don’t want the season to go further by playing tomorrow or whatever, it wouldn’t have been ideal. People have plans or plans. vacation to continue, wouldn’t it have been great.
“I think Georgia refused to come out at some point and then the field was playable. Luckily it worked out.”
“I learn on the job”
It has now been five years since Robertson was first presented with his country’s captain’s armband by Alex McLeish. It was a tumultuous time for the entire national team at the time; Clarke has retained faith in his left-back after taking over as boss less than a year later.
Robertson scored the first goal of Clarke’s term and went on to help Scotland qualify for Euro 2020, but in this campaign there has been a shift in perception and a greater importance of the full-back to ‘Anfield.
He was a driving force in this group stage for his country and was the driving force behind both victories during the international break in June. In Norway on Saturday he stabilized a defense that kept his side in the game – and in Hampden his push down the left overwhelmed the Georgians.
The defender has made 12 starts in the opposition’s final third, more than any other Scottish player. He completed 23 passes in the final third, just behind Callum McGregor. Robertson also had the second most touches and the second most assists of any Scottish player.
“It depends on age, experience, learning on the job,” he said.
“I got the captaincy relatively young. Did I make any mistakes? Yeah, maybe I took too much on my shoulders when I first got it and tried to sort it all out You then kind of realize that you can’t sort everything, you can only control what you have.
“But I think we are so much better off the pitch now. Thanks to the staff there, they made it so much better and we just built better and better.”