IN football, winning becomes a habit. In the terms of the Scotland national team, the theory appears to be applicable to the exact opposite.

Taking a gander at the results of our boys in dark blue has become a labour of love. In the last three years, Gordon Strachan's team have only managed to beat four different teams in competitive action. That sounds grim on it's own, it gets worse when you realise those precious victories came against the mighty Georgia, Republic of Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta.

Michty me.

With that in mind, thousands of Tartan Army footsoldiers will converge on Hampden tomorrow night in more hope than expectation to get the better of a Slovenia team that, with even great respect to Ireland, are better than the quartet above.

The writing is of course already on the wall for Scotland in this group. Played four, won one, draw one and lost two have left Strachan surely drinking in the last-chance saloon. Many believe the bell for last orders was rung at Easter Road on Wednesday night.

No matter how they do it, the Scotland manager must somehow coax a win out of this group of players who have got out the habit of winning, particularly at Hampden. Indeed, it'll be two years next week since we last won a qualifier at our national stadium.

As Strachan sits in his Mar Hall hotel room tonight pondering what players to entrust with this mission, he would do wise to look to those have rarely done anything apart from securing three points this seasons. After all, he has called up six of them.

That's the amount of Celtic players Strachan can call upon if he so wishes for this Slovenia crunch, a group of players who most probably will go into June's England clash with a domestic treble already tucked away.

Craig Gordon, Kieran Tierney, Scott Brown, Stuart Armstrong, James Forrest and Leigh Griffiths have all - to varying degrees - played their part in a Celtic season which so far, has yet to see a domestic defeat.

Not only that, but they are a collective who remain unbeaten in all Old Firm meetings, have already triumphed twice at Hampden this season and not to mention earned three draws in the Champions League this season.

Just one sleep away from another outing in the national stadium, Strachan's injection of positivity into this team seems obvious.

“It’s good for Celtic that there are so many international Scottish players," Tierney told SportTimes.

“It’s also good there are so many Celtic players, I’d say so.

“Everyone brings their own bit of positivity to the group and obviously what Celtic have done this season has been great.

“If we can add any positivity if we get the chance to play then that’s what we will do.

“It’s hard because the games are tight [for Celtic]. They are hard games.

“We’re not so far ahead just like that. We’ve worked hard to get there, it’s not come as easy every team challenges you. I wouldn’t say anything is easy.

“Celtic is a big pressure club and the experience of playing there for the last two or three seasons, it does stand you in good stead for coming here.

“Obviously Sunday is a big pressure game. Hopefully that experience will count."

The 19-year-old Motherwell native was rested along with most of his club mates on Wednesday for the brutal 1-1 draw with Canada at Easter Road. A sign perhaps that Strachan is of a mind to play a fair bulk of them, most probably from the start.

One player who did get a run out for half an hour is striker Griffiths. The man who banged in 40 goals last term for Celtic still remains in Moussa Dembele's shadows at Celtic, but Tierney has backed him to make an impression if called upon tomorrow night.

“He’s working very hard in training," he said.

“It’s hard work and everyone gets fitter, so fitness won’t be a problem for him, it’s just when he gets on the park hopefully he does really well as he did against Canada."

Tierney's emergence into the Celtic team in recent years has been incredible given the way Emilio Izaguirre has been ousted with relative ease.

It is perhaps a tougher task for the teenager to stamp his authority on the left-back position for his country. While Rangers' Lee Wallace is also available for selection, you have to think it is a straight shoot out with Hull City's Andy Robertson that Tierney must focus on.

However, the down-to-earth defender is still relishing being part of a national set up - he moved straight from the U19s to the first team - and insists he will be fully ready if selected tomorrow night.

Tierney, whose first birthday was just five days before Scotland's France 98 opener with Brazil, said: “It’s great to be called up and be part of the squad so I’m happy about that.

“I made the jump from the u19s last season. I’ve now been in three or four squads, sadly I also had to pull out a few.

“I’m getting used to it now. I know everybody and it’s a good team. It’s a good group of boys.

“Everyone is doing everything we can on the training field, we’re working hard every day. We want to make it right."