Robert Snodgrass is determined to put his West Ham nightmare behind him and fire Scotland to victory in Vilnius.
Snodgrass, whose hat-trick in Malta got the Scots’ World Cup qualifying campaign off to a flyer a year ago, has just moved from the Hammers to Aston Villa.
So desperate was he to leave the London club that he happily dropped down a division from England’s Premier League to the Sky Bet Championship.
Thankfully for him and his country, Snodgrass got the deal done and dusted before going on international duty and has a clear mind going into the Group F qualifier against Lithuania on Friday night.
Mind you, the miserable time he suffered at the London Stadium under West Ham boss Slaven Bilic is still fresh.
Snodgrass went south from Hull City just last January, joining the Hammers on a three-and-a-half year deal for the impressive fee of £10.2 million.
However, things quickly went wrong for the Glaswegian.
He made his debut for his new club as a substitute in a 4-0 home defeat to Manchester City and that was when he realised, to put it politely, that Bilic may not have done his homework on his new, big-money purchase.
Snodgrass explained: “I realised from the off that it wasn’t going to happen for me at West Ham.
“I was coming on for my debut against Manchester City and he (Bilic) said: ‘Where do you want to play, on the left or right?’
“I thought: ‘You’ve just signed me and I’ve played on the right or behind the striker at Hull City all season.’
“I found that very strange.
“After that, every time I played I was on the left and alarm bells were ringing.
“I don’t know why he did it.
“I came in just as (one-time star man) Dimitri Payet left and maybe it was a case of ‘you can play there’ but I had only filled in on the left on a couple of times.
“I hate that position.
“It’s fine to play for one or two games but you need to play in your right position, especially on the back of scoring nine goals for Hull City.
“At that stage nobody had scored more goals for Hull or West Ham.
“The manager was under a lot of pressure and I later said that, out of respect, I didn’t want to go in and see him during that period.
“But when I eventually did speak to him I said I thought he’d have known I wasn’t a left midfielder and that he must have watched me after signing me for that type of money.
“That was the conversation. His answer was basically that when people are confident they can play anywhere.
“People can judge my time at West Ham whatever way they want but I know myself that when there is a manager that knows how to get the best out of you then it’s different – and that’s why I chose Villa. I wanted to work with (ex-Hull gaffer) Steve Bruce again.
“I’ve got nothing to prove to anyone. I’ve scored nearly 100 goals in my career and done it with a smile on my face.”
Snodgrass is never happier than when he is in the dark blue of his country and, despite his lack of game time, he will be raring to go against the Lithuanians if manager Gordon Strachan gives him the call.
“I had about one hour at Aston Villa before coming here,” he said.
“I did my medical, signed some papers and away I went.
“It was a relief to get it sorted before joining up with the Scotland squad.
“I am glad not to be going into a crazy, manic week with things up in the air.
“Mind you, it’s hard because I just got my kids into school in London and then had to move.
“It took me four or five months to get the school lined up and then before you know it I’m an Aston Villa player.
“It’s difficult and that’s the side of things a lot of people don’t see but that’s modern day football.
“My kids are just starting school on Thursday but we will work something out.
“Football brings changes and different direction in your life.
“It is how you adapt to it and move on that counts.”
Considering what is at stake for the Scots – the World Cup dream will be over if they don’t win in Vilnius – it could be seen as a risk to start Snodgrass but he is willing to step up.
“You do need match fitness and I have not had any games other than in pre-season,” he admitted.
“But I am probably the fittest I have ever been because I knew I was coming back to face a challenge at club level and now I need to be ready for a new one.
“I believe I will be ready but I won’t be able to know until I play the game.
“I think every one of us has something to prove with what is at stake.
“We can’t afford any more slip-ups – we need to win.”
