THERE will be a percentage of Scotland fans that are really looking forward to the World Cup campaign and believe that we can qualify for the finals in Russia. Unfortunately, I am not one of them.

I look at the squad that Gordon Strachan picked for the game with Malta next weekend and it doesn’t excite me. Overall, it just isn’t good enough.

I have said for a while that we are defensively poor, and that is no disrespect to the centre-backs that we have got. That is all we have got, we have nobody else to pick.

People will look at Iceland and the success they have had but they are a well organised and well drilled unit. If you look at Wales, they have got the likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey that can turn a game and win it.

We don’t have that quality. We are a workmanlike side but you need to be solid throughout the team for that to pay dividends and we just don’t have the players right now.

I hate being negative about Scotland because I would love to see us back at a major finals. It has been far too long.

There are a generation of Scotland fans that have never seen us at a World Cup or European Championships and that is ridiculous for a football country like Scotland. I hope I am wrong but I can’t see us qualifying.

The game against Malta next Sunday is one that we have to win and we have to win it comfortably. You have to be picking up six points against Malta and Lithuania.

If we drop anything next week, we have had it already. It is imperative that we win those games and we need to win our home matches as well.

Sadly, I am being negative about the Scotland situation. But I am also being realistic.

Gordon and the players will do their best, I have no doubt about that. But their best won’t be good enough unfortunately.