Thursday 22 March 2018 15:41, UK
Alex McLeish wants to bring “bravado” back to the Scotland team, as he prepares to take charge of the first match of his second spell as manager.
Scotland take on Costa Rica in a friendly at Hampden Park on Friday, which sees McLeish return to the dugout 11 years after his first stint with the national team.
McLeish is targeting qualification for Euro 2020, but hopes to kick-start a new era by bringing confidence back to the Scotland squad.
"We want to qualify for the Euros," said McLeish. "That is our number one goal and we will never have that out of our minds.
"It is not something to worry about, it is something face head-on and love it.
"We want to get a bit of bravado back into people's mentality and believe that we can compete with the best teams in Europe, if not the world."
The Scottish FA confirmed on Thursday that Charlie Mulgrew will captain McLeish's first squad, which features a number of young players and the new boss has called on the team to focus on results, rather than performances.
"Performance is very important. Let's be honest, we are not trying to create a team that we think can play like Barcelona," McLeish added. "We do want to play good football, but we also have to remember some of our own strengths.
"When you look at the squad, it has got a lot of presence in terms of the stature of the players.
"Performance levels would be great, but I want to win. Winning breeds confidence and we are looking for a consistent way to win."
