European Qualifiers: Gordon Strachan hopes to build on Scotland feelgood factor against Georgia

Scotland manager Gordon Strachan believes the feelgood factor surrounding the national team will act as a huge spur when they take on Georgia in Saturday's European Qualifier.

The Scots face their Group D rivals at Ibrox looking to put their first points on the board following an opening-day defeat to Germany in Dortmund last month.

Sport gives us a spring in our step and we're happy at the moment that we seem to be adding to the spring in the step of the Scottish sports fan, whether it be football or not.

And Strachan insists his side could not be better prepared for their qualifying double-header ahead of a trip to Poland next Tuesday.

"There are no grey areas ahead of the game," he said. "The players know exactly what to do... everyone of them. Now they just have to wait to be told who are the ones who are going to be playing.

No grey areas

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"They know what to do when the ball is in certain positions, they know what to do when they are attacking and when we are defending so there's nobody who has any grey areas in their thoughts at all.

"We have done a lot of work this week, right up until this morning and we are still working on the things we want to do tomorrow."
 
Asked if recent performances had lifted the Tartan Army's expectation level, having watched their side taste defeat in just one of their last seven matches, Strachan said: "I don't really know.

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"But what I do know is from the feeling I get as I walk about the place is that people are feeling good about themselves and that's what we are meant to do as a sport, make people better.

"The Commonwealth Games made people better with the performances of the Scottish athletes, it is the same when Andy Murray does well and it was the same when Stephen Gallacher was picked for the Ryder Cup team.

"Sport gives us a spring in our step and we're happy at the moment that we seem to be adding to the spring in the step of the Scottish sports fan, whether it be football or not."

Experience

And Strachan is convinced the experience his side gained in Germany will prove invaluable when they take to the home of the Scottish League One champions on Saturday evening.

The Commonwealth Games made people better with the performances of the Scottish athletes, it is the same when Andy Murray does well and it was the same when Stephen Gallacher was picked for the Ryder Cup team.

"You can take things from every game whether positive or negative," he said. "There has been a build-up to this for the last 16 months, to get a performance like we did in the second half against Germany.

"But we look at the first 20 minutes to see what we could have done better. We have had a talk about it, briefly, looked at what we could have done better as individuals and as a group and hopefully when we get to that situation again we'll be able to deal with it better.  

"But tomorrow we could put on the best performance you have ever seen from a Scotland side but the footballing gods may decide 'you are not going to win a game of football', that happens.

"But what we can do is go into the game saying we've left no stone unturned, done as much as we can as a group to prepare for Georgia and we could have a lucky day where we don't play well but score a couple of scruffy goals. That's the football world."

Watch Scotland take on Georgia live from Ibrox on Sky Sports 5 from 4pm this Saturday