The Scotland squad is currently blessed with fierce competition for places in many areas of the side, most notably at left-back and in the attacking areas of the team.

The centre of defence on the other hand has come under the spotlight for a lack of depth, along with a perceived dearth of talent coming through the ranks below the senior side.

There is a perception that the men currently in possession of the jerseys therefore, Russell Martin and Grant Hanley, are there simply through virtue of a lack of viable alternatives.

For Hanley though, who is currently struggling to nail down a place for Newcastle United, the partnership has the potential to be a solid one for Scotland if given time to develop.

“It’s good, I enjoy playing with Russell,” Hanley said. “Obviously he’s an experienced player, and it’s good to play next to him.

“It’s always great to come away with the national team and play, it always makes me proud and I’m enjoying it.”

Hanley was almost the unlikely hero at the other end of the pitch for Scotland as they fought their way back into the game against Lithuania late on.

First, it was his headed flick that James McArthur turned into the net to bring the Scots back onto level terms, before he almost bundled home the winner in stoppage time.

“I thought I was going to get there” he said. “The boy has done well to get it out from under the bar. “Knowing what the referee was like as well, I’ve just tried to throw myself at it without giving him an excuse to give a foul again.

“The boy has done well and we’re unlucky not to get three points. Obviously we’re disappointed. The target was three points tonight but credit to the lads, they worked hard and managed to get the goal back in the end.

“Once we scored that I fancied us to go on and get the winner then, so it’s a wee bit disappointing that we didn’t, but it’s still early doors and it’s going to be a crazy group.

“We’ll just keep going. It’s a double-header so we’ve got another chance on Tuesday night to go and get three points.”

Whether the Tartan Army will agree with Hanley’s verdict that Scotland were unlucky not to win against Lithuania is open to debate.

The big defender has pleaded with the fans to keep faith in the side though, as he believes there are still plenty of twists and turns to come.

And he has praised his teammates for their refusal to accept defeat, even when they were so far off the standards they have set for themselves.

“It shows the mental strength of the lads,” he said. “The boys enjoy coming away and working hard for each other.

“It’s going to be a crazy group. We’re only a couple of games in, there’s a long way to go, so we’ll keep working hard and keep concentrating on ourselves, and hopefully we’ll be there or thereabouts come the end of it.”