LIVERPOOL defender Andy Robertson says he is ready to fight Celtic’s Kieran Tierney for the Scotland left-back spot if there is only one space for one of them in the team.
The Hoops full-back has switched flanks to play on the right hand side under Gordon Strachan during the Russia 2018 campaign, but Robertson is aware a time may arrive when they are in direct competition for Tierney's natural role.
And ahead of the finale of Scotland’s campaign against Slovakia and Slovenia, Robertson insisted he is up to the task.
"I don't know if the gaffer had an open mind to trying us both and maybe saw my right peg," he told BBC Scotland.
"KT would prefer to play left-back, it's his natural position, but since he's gone over there he's been different class.
"It's been working out quite well, but there might come a time when both of us need to compete for the left-back spot. If we do that, we'll be ready to compete.
"Just now, it's working quite well that we're on both flanks and causing trouble down both sides. It's up to the manager if that continues, but we're happy with it.
"I've watched KT a lot and he's a great young talent. There's a lot more to come from him as well."
The former Hull City and Dundee United man also gave his backing to manager Gordon Strachan, who has turned the campaign around after a disastrous start in which Scotland drew at home to Lithuania and were heavily beaten in Slovakia.
Strachan now has the chance to lead his country to a play-off by beating Slovakia at Hampden Park on Thursday and Slovenia in Ljubljana this Sunday.
"I'd love the gaffer to stay and I'm sure he will stay because he loves his job," said Robertson.
"I love working under the manager, he's brilliant, the enthusiasm he brings through the week. He can't wait to see us all because it means he gets back on the training ground as well.
"[Assistants] Mark [McGhee] and Callum [Davidson] are brilliant as well and we're all right behind them. They're right behind us, we're all united, that's what we need. I don't think that's going to change.
"If this campaign finishes as a positive or a negative, we'll be looking forward to the Euro campaign.
"We had a wee dip at the start, Lithuania at home will always be the one we look back on.
"The fans and the press thought this was over again, but credit to the boys and the staff, we've put ourselves in a position going into the last two games where we've got a chance of the play-offs.
"With the last four or five games, if we're not feeling optimistic then will we ever? It's been good performances and more importantly good results.
"You can see it's a big week, all the boys and the staff are buzzing about. There's a real feel-good factor about it, but we need to go out on Thursday and do the job, then hopefully we're celebrating at the end."
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here