THE level of optimism around the country and with the fans, and even maybe some of the players, will have risen in the aftermath of Scotland’s 4-0 win over Albania on Saturday night.

It was a brilliant result and exactly what Alex McLeish needed to get rid of the negativity that has been surrounding him and the national team recently.

Alex didn’t have his problems to seek after nine players were unavailable for the game but I don’t believe for a second that any one of them have called off because they are not interested. That is a myth, for me.

There are genuine injuries there. Kieran Tierney will be gutted to miss out, John McGinn will be gutted to miss out.

These things are part and parcel of international football and players have to consider themselves and their clubs as well, especially heading into the festive period when there are so many important matches to be played.

When you are approaching that stage of the season and players have got small injuries, the common sense thing to do is miss the international games so that you are available for the matches for your club.

You have to remember that there are two physios and a doctor with Scotland that need to look at these players and they were deemed not fit enough to be involved. If they were fit, why has Alex not invoked the five-day rule?

The manager went into the Albania game with the world seemingly on his shoulders and he will feel that pressure again at Hampden tonight as we look for the result that will see us finish top of our section.

People have pointed out the run of six defeats in eight games and how the Nations League has gone at times. But Scotland are where we are for a reason.

The results recently, and being in a group with Israel and Albania, are where we are as a team right now.

Losing games will never be acceptable for Scotland but look at the opposition and the likes of Belgium and Portugal. Can we expect to beat those teams these days?

I think there is a false level of expectation regarding our country on the pitch and people are looking at the group with Israel and Albania and thinking ‘they are poor, we will beat them no problem’.

But it is not as easy as that and it was never going to be, and that tells you where we are as a side at this moment in time. Let’s be realistic about it.

Look at England. They are World Cup semi-finalists and they were in a section with Spain and Croatia because that is the level they are deemed good enough to be at.

So, let’s not sugar coat it and get beyond ourselves when it comes to Scotland. The teams we are playing in the Nations League are the teams we are on a level with.

Forget the wins over France all those years ago and let’s stop harking back to what we have done in the past. We need to be realistic about where we are right now, and we are in Group C in this competition for a reason.

Let’s bring the sense of expectation back down a bit and don’t get too high or too low on the back of a couple of results. And let’s give the manager all that support that he needs.

I have heard people saying it was an embarrassment that there were as many withdrawals from the squad and that the players let Scotland down. They have been accused of not being interested in their country, which is farcical.

For me, there are supporters that have turned around and disregarded their country. I don’t want to have a go at the fans, but it seems as though it is fine for some of them to be negative and disregard the team when it suits them.

The negativity in this country is like nothing I have seen before and you have foreign players that come in to play here that can’t believe it. People from afar that watch the television and listen to radio stations here can’t believe how negative the country is towards their sport at times.

The best way for Alex to reverse that and to ease the pressure on him is to go and win tonight and secure the play-off place for Euro 2020. He needs a good performance and, most importantly, a good result.

Thankfully he is going into the game on the back of an encouraging night in Albania and the players will take a bit of confidence from the fact they went away from home and won 4-0.

I thought Ryan Fraser was terrific on Saturday night and James Forrest, when he is like that, is unplayable because of his speed and his work ethic and his goal threat.

In the middle of the park, I thought Callum McGregor was excellent as well and he has impressed even more since Scott Brown got injured at club level.

Celtic, over the last couple of weeks, have played some really good stuff and that is not because Brown is out of the team. It has a bit to do with McGregor stepping up, though.

You look at someone like Ryan Christie as well. He has been unbelievable for Celtic recently, he has got his new deal and now he is flying on the international scene.

There was a lot of talk about the players that pulled out of the squad but it is all about the ones that can play and Christie certainly made the most of his chance.

Every one of the players Alex selects tonight has that same opportunity and they need to stand up and be counted to get Scotland over the line.

A freshness is always brilliant in football and that showed on Saturday night. It has to continue against Israel now to give the nation something to be pleased about once again.