I WAS delighted to head along to Hampden on Wednesday to watch Scotland mark their return from four months without a game by defeating Northern Ireland.

Some people have questioned the value or wisdom of having a friendly ahead of a Euro 2016 qualifier against Gibraltar on Sunday.

But it was important for Gordon Strachan to get everyone back together and check everything was as it should be before they went into that game against the Group D minnows.

You don't want to be finding out when the whistle goes on Sunday that there is a problem.

Not that I expect anything other than an emphatic victory for Scotland to set them up for the much stiffer test away to the Republic of Ireland in June.

Gordon is right when he says there is pressure in every game.

Okay, it's a different kind of pressure when you are playing world champions, Germany, in the opening game of the group.

This time it's the pressure that comes with expectation, and I know where he is coming from when he says the crowd will be on their backs if they haven't scored after four minutes.

Gibraltar's results have been improving, two 7-0 defeats followed by a 3-0 loss to Georgia then a 4-0 defeat in Germany - which shows they are learning.

But we have to control this game from the first whistle, and have the tempo and intensity to make sure they do not get any chance to settle.

The fact is, Scotland don't have a great history of thumping teams by huge margins.

But this really is an occasion when we have to go gung-ho.

For that reason, I'd like to see as many attack-minded players in the starting XI as possible to give the Tartan Army something to sing about.

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