Stuart Findlay calls on Scotland to maintain focus

Stuart Findlay has stressed the importance of Scotland’s final 2020 European Championship qualifying matches even though Group I prospects are bleak.

Steve Clarke’s side are second bottom of the section after six games and their hopes of qualifying for the finals next summer now essentially rest on the play-offs which take place next March.

Kilmarnock defender Findlay is hoping to win his first cap after being called into the squad earlier this week for the upcoming qualifying double-header against Russia on Thursday and San Marino on Sunday as a replacement for the injured Liam Cooper.

The 24-year-old insists Scotland need to go into the play-off game on a high, with positive results in their final four Group I fixtures which conclude with Kazakhstan and Cyprus next month.

He said: “Obviously we haven’t done great in the group but it is all about trying to get ourselves playing at the top level so when these games come around we still have a great chance of qualifying.

“If you go into the play-off game with a couple of good results and performances it can only help.

“It is a matter of getting back to where we should be and keep it going.

“It hasn’t gone the way we wanted but all we can do now is try to go out and get six points from the next two games and build on that.”

Findlay hopes to the get the chance to show the improvement he believes he made under Clarke at Kilmarnock, before the former West Brom boss departed Rugby Park for Hampden Park in the summer.

He said: “I came on leaps and bounds under the manager at Kilmarnock.

“It is a confidence thing, I have a lot more belief now in what I can do.

“I have been in a few squads before and I know that I am capable of being at this level and it is something I am looking to prove.

“I have been given this opportunity and all I can do is try to do myself proud when I am here.”