DOES anyone really expect Scotland to get anything from our match in Holland on Saturday? Over the past week I couldn't find one fan who truly believed, and within the media the accepted wisdom is that we have as much chance of winning as I have of getting another cap.
It's a realistic view when you consider both squads and also Scotland's stuttering start to the campaign. The Dutch are loaded with players from Real Madrid while we are in a blind panic because Birmingham City's sometime striker is unavailable.
James McFadden's absence is undoubtedly a blow but look at the clubs that provide the opposition's strike force and the gulf looks more like a chasm.
Looking at it logically maybe it is bordering on a lost cause, especially when we remember the last contest. Who could forget that 6-0 drubbing? George Burley is trying to but in the dark of night he will be haunted by it as much as the rest of us and he wasn't even the manager at the time.
So is it worth turning up? The answer is yes, and the reason is of course the unpredictability of football. Instead of looking back to the 6-0 game, what about the 1-0 win four days earlier at Hampden Park? Then there were the uplifting ties against Italy and more particularly those against France in the last campaign.
Beating the French in Paris was unimaginable but it happened. And even though it was Faddy who scored the winner, it was the organisation of the team and the workrate of the players that served up the points, as well as a little sprinkle of luck and a huge dollop of belief.
It is honestly the case that international players believe; they rarely if ever walk out on to a field and think about defeat. Playing for Scotland against the likes of the Netherlands, Germany or England I never expected to lose and none of my team-mates did either. In the European Championship in Sweden in 1992 we took on a great Dutch team that included Gullit, Van Basten and Bergkamp, and although they won 1-0 it was incredibly tight.
Maybe the current team isn't as good as that group but I have no doubt they could have the same spirit. It was evident under Walter Smith and Alex McLeish and somehow George Burley has to get that ethic working again to the same extraordinary level. It will take the usual Herculean effort of course but our midfield triumvirate of Scott Brown, Darren Fletcher and Barry Ferguson should be ready to put in the requisite shift.
These three have enough talent and experience to stand toe to toe with their opposite numbers in that crucial central area. The hope is that the Scots will treat it like the most important game of the season while the Dutch see it as just another tiresome outing in the procession towards qualification. I would like to see Brown stiffen Arjen Robben in the first five minutes, just to find out if they are up for it. Some of the players from these big clubs might not fancy the possibility of injury with the last vital months of the season imminent.
If the game is played at a continental pace and we sit off them, then there is every chance of another humiliating defeat. If we get in their faces for 90 minutes then maybe, just maybe, there could be an upset.
To make sure the Dutch do not control the play at their pace, there has to be some meaningful threat up front for Scotland. In that playing two strikers away from home is bordering on soccer suicide then Kenny Miller is the obvious choice, but on this occasion not for me the right one.
Steven Fletcher's performances over the past few weeks have shown that the Hibs striker is back to his very best after an admittedly patchy season. Vital goals against Hearts and Hamilton not only propelled his side up the table, they also restored his confidence and focus. He has the perfect game for a lone attacker; he chases everything down and never gives the defenders a second's peace. He has the ability and the strength to hold up the ball and the stamina to last for most, if not all, of the game – and Kenny Miller would be a great late replacement.
Even though Fletcher is capable of scoring, failure to find the net would not equate to total failure. The lone striker's main job is to allow willing midfielders to support and he is capable of buying time until Darren Fletcher and Brown arrive.
Just as importantly he is similar to McFadden, Brown and Darren Fletcher in that he not only believes he can beat anyone, but he does not fear reputations. His own international reputation has still to be forged, so even in days of blanket TV coverage, I suspect his style will be a bit of a surprise to the Oranje centre backs. So while we expect and need to win the points against Iceland, with the correct personnel I wouldn't write off an ambush in Amsterdam just yet.
