GORDON Strachan has called on his Scotland players to keep their focus in their Russia 2018 qualifier against Slovakia tonight and not let the highly-charged atmosphere inside Hampden affect them.

The national team must win their penultimate Group F match against their second-placed rivals to keep alive their hopes of coming runners-up and securing a World Cup play-off spot.

Strachan believes his side, who have conceded late goals in important games to Poland and England, must keep their cool in order to take their campaign down to the final fixture against Slovenia in Ljubljana on Sunday.

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However, the 60-year-old is confident Scotland, who have beaten Slovenia, Lithuania and Malta and drawn with England this year to revive their hopes of making it to Russia, can handle the pressure of the occasion.

“I think the fans and the players together make Hampden a special place I really do,” he said. “The atmosphere will change every minute of the game from ‘yeah, this is great’ to ‘oh jeez, here we go’.

“While that is going on with the fans, who are totally entitled to do that, we have got to stay at a level that is not being affected by that.

“I think Europe helps that with the Celtic lads. They have to stay above the excitement and the depression and stay at the same level. That’s what European football gets you.

“We have given ourselves that belief. We know it will be a long night, but we can deal with that. It’s going to be end to end, we can deal with that as well.”

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Strachan added: “Listen, it is a nervous bit. But in any big time sport, in golf, in tennis, you get this. People have to stay focused. But there is only so much you can do as a coach. They have to stay focused themselves.

“We did something when we were defending a free-kick all the way through the Euro 2016 campaign and we thought we had got it. Then we forgot about it right at the last minute in the Poland game. I will just remind them to stay focused.

“The fans will be saying ‘woah, let’s go for it’ and all the rest of it. We have got to stay above that. There are times when the crowd will be saying ‘we want the ball to go forward’ and we will have to stay patient on the ball.

“The fans can do what they want. They want to get excited and all the rest of it. We have to stay above that.”

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Strachan revealed the Scotland players have been fired up ahead of this meeting with Slovakia and he had needed to tell them to relax at times during their training sessions at their base outside Erskine.

“I was watching Kieran Tierney leaping about this morning and I was telling him to calm down a bit,” he said. “He was running about like a maniac. It’s a real pleasure, working with them.”

The game is on course to be a near sell-out and Strachan is optimistic his Scotland players can get the Tartan Army firmly behind them.

“It is amazing the small things that can bring fans on your side,” he said. “And I am not just talking about wonderful dribbling and shots. It is jumping higher, wining a bouncing ball, chasing somebody, closing down.

“Look at (Leigh) Griffiths. He got the biggest cheer when he chased the centre back down against England. The crowd thought it was brilliant. Those small things can change it. If you aren’t have a good game as a player just do that and the crowd will stay with you.”