Scotland defender Russell Martin is convinced his team would make a major contribution to Euro 2016 – and he is confident they will get the chance to back up his assertion.
Scotland continue their qualification bid when they face Georgia in Tbilisi on Friday night having only suffered one defeat in six games so far, a 2-1 loss against world champions Germany in Dortmund.
Gordon Strachan’s men are determined to make sure Scotland’s absence from a major finals stops at 18 years – and Martin is refusing to countenance failure.
“I expect us to be in France,” the Norwich defender said. “I believe that 100 per cent and I’m sure everyone in the squad would tell you the same.
“With the position we have put ourselves in now we all expect to get there, it’s as simple as that. If we don’t we will all be extremely disappointed, but we are confident we have enough in the group.”
Scotland gave Germany a fright in Dortmund and were leading 2-1 in Warsaw before Poland levelled late on, and Martin believes they would hold their own if they got to next summer’s finals.
“We would add to it as a squad for sure, with what we’ve got,” he said. “And we’re desperate to show that now. We’ve put ourselves in a great position and we’re desperate to go out there and qualify and show what we’re about.
“We’re a proper team. We’re not about individuals, we don’t rely heavily on one person, we’re a proper team with togetherness and all of that. I think the people of Scotland enjoy watching us play.
“I’ve had loads of people giving us a lot of credit for what we’ve achieved recently in such a short space of time and the way we play and the way we approach games. Under this manager that won’t change so hopefully we can take it to a major tournament and show it there as well.”