SCOTT Brown last night predicted Scotland can help to repair our national game’s wounded pride by overcoming Georgia here this evening and going on to qualify for the Euro 2016 finals.

The Celtic midfielder has shrugged aside the minor knee injury he sustained against St. Johnstone at Parkhead on Saturday and is set to captain his country in a vital Group D match.

Gordon Strachan’s side can increase their chances of progressing to the European Championship finals in France next summer with victory over Kakhaber Tskhadadze’s team.

Brown admitted he was still smarting from the Scottish champions’ hugely costly failure to make it through for the group stages of the Champions League last week.

He had declared himself “ashamed” at the performance of Ronny Deila’s side in the 2-0 defeat to Malmo in the second leg of the play-off in Sweden and the 4-3 aggregate loss.

The reverse was the latest disappointment suffered by a Scottish club in Europe this season; Aberdeen, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and St. Johnstone all exited the Europa League in the preliminary rounds.

Scotland’s performance in their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign – they have won three, drawn two and lost just once – to date has given the Tartan Army hope they can reach their first finals since France ’98.

Brown recognises that ending an 18 year wait to be involved in the finals of a major tournament will have a positive impact on football in his country.

“The game’s been through hard times and we need to pick it up somehow,” he said.

“We need people to believe in Scotland again. Gordon’s done a great job in that respect. He’s been incredible with us, with everyone.

“So if we could reach the Euros and then aim for the World Cup two years after that it would be massive. If that helps, that’d be great.

“We hear so many people being negative about Scottish football in general, especially over the last couple of weeks with European results, so we need to believe in ourselves more than ever.

“We’re a squad who really enjoying training and playing under a gaffer who’s so enthusiastic it’s unreal, so we need to take that into every game.”

Brown added: “It’s a good thing for me to be here so soon after Malmo, because it spurs you on. It’s a different occasion in a lot of ways, but the same one for me.

“The Champions League’s behind us now, this is a different team, different competition, different bunch of boys. But, of course, what happened last week drives you on. We wanted to get through and it’s a big, big miss for us.

“But now we’ve got the chance to take Scotland to the Euros, we’re playing the world champions after this and there’s so much to look forward to. Last week was last week. We’re just here to concentrate on Scotland now.

“Every game is huge and there is still a lot to play for. There’s a long way to go to get to the Euros and that’s where we want to be.

“There are still three teams who can win the group and the Republic of Ireland can still qualify, so we’re trying to push everyone as far as we possibly can.”

Of his injury, Brown said: “It’s all right. I trained the other day and I’ll train today, so everything’s back to normal.

“If I wasn’t fit enough in training the manager would tell me to sit it out, but I felt I needed to do something just before coming here. A few days chilling and staying off it and everything was back to normal.”