Scotland sit second-bottom of their World Cup qualifying group with only minnows Malta beneath them propping up the section, swathes of the Tartan Army have seemingly already given up on their side reaching the game’s greatest stage in Russia next summer, and the national team’s last match drew less than 10,000 punters as they drew with a side ranked 117th in the world.

But Scotland manager Gordon Strachan insists he still feels lucky to be in charge of his country as he prepares for his 35th – and possibly last – match in charge of the national side.

Strachan’s body language after the dour display against Canada on a miserable Wednesday night in Edinburgh screamed out that there was any number of places he would rather have been, and his oft-used golfing analogies over this last week suggest that he is already picturing himself out on the course.

If the Scots can’t produce a victory against Slovenia this evening, that may very well be his next stop, but if Strachan can earn himself a stay of execution, then he is adamant that he would relish the chance to lead the country’s charge back into contention in Group F.

If it doesn’t go to plan though? Well, Strachan doesn’t want to look that prospect in the eye just yet. When questioned on his future if Scotland don’t win, Strachan said: “I’ll still be the person I am but at this moment in time I’m the lucky one who gets to lead out a team. Not just lucky to be in football. I’m 60 years old, fit and healthy. Training today was marvellous at Mar Hall. The sun was out, there were kids watching us training. You think, ‘Wow! What a wonderful life.’

“I’m the one who’s got to make decisions. I’m good with that. The only thing that scares me is not getting three points. The only thing that matters to me is that it’s three points. It’s just three points. Everything else is not there for me. You might think that’s strange but it’s not.

“I’ve enjoyed myself working with these players but we’re going for these three points. I’m oblivious to anything after that.

“I love [the job]. Absolutely. If anyone comes to our training ground they’ll know that.”

Strachan has been unusually candid this week when addressing the must-win nature of tonight’s fixture, and there is a feeling that he knows anything other than a victory will spell not only the end of Scotland’s qualification hopes, but also the end of his tenure in the dugout.

He has been trying not to let the starkness of the situation affect him though, as he explained when it was put to him that he could be picking his last Scotland team this evening.

“I never really thought about that when I was picking my team now that you bring it up thanks,” he quipped. “Am I going to be living next week? I hope so!

“I know what you’re saying, but I’ve never actually thought while I was picking it ‘aye, this could be the last one of these, so stuff it, I’ll put anybody in. Who cares, it could be the last one.’”

In saying that however, there was a suggestion from Strachan that the make-or-break nature of the fixture has freed him up rather in his thinking towards his team selection, with a more attacking bent and potentially a more youthful feel to his line-up than he has traditionally favoured.

“It could just be for this game,” he said. “You might see something different in this game. For different games, there’s different goalkeepers you know, I think.

“Who’s feeling good about themselves, who’s enjoying every game? Sometimes people come along to internationals struggling with their game. it's very hard to then go and play a big game.

“It’s like a golfer who’s qualified for the Masters but is struggling when he gets there and he’s playing the hardest course in the world. It's not a great feeling.

“You have to be fit, because it’ll be a high tempo game. They have to be adaptable because there's a couple of ways they play - but you have to hope they change their way to deal with you.

“And that all comes down to who jumps the highest, who wants to run the quickest, who wants to control the game and who wants to be bravest on the ball. Whatever shape we’re playing, these four factors determine how the game will be decided.”

With that in mind, the prospect of a debut cap for Celtic’s Stuart Armstrong, who has embodied those qualities throughout a stellar season, may be a foregone conclusion.

“There’s two lads who have come in like that, they have both come in from the sides and played central in a three now with Tom Cairney and Stuart doing the very same thing, and their careers changed completely,” he said.

“It’s all very well moving their position, but then you have to take that opportunity. Is it good luck? It’s when preparation meets opportunity, and that’s what’s happened with Stuart.

“He was prepared and ready and fit for that move into midfield and he’s took that. That’s not good luck, he’s took that opportunity.

“I have no qualms about him, or anyone else I might play, or their mental strength.”

Whatever happens this evening, we should know by the end of proceedings where Strachan’s future lies, and he is hoping to wake up on Monday morning not only as the Scotland manager, but to witness the mood around the national side changed completely.

“Sometimes there’s a clarity to it when you face something like this,” he said. “There’s no, ‘if we get a draw, there’s this’ and it ends up a good draw. It has to be a win now and it changes everything completely. Whatever comes after that looks after itself but a win changes the landscape.

“The landscape would change totally, totally. If you ask me what I’m concerned about, it’s not that it could be the last game ever or anything like that, it’s how you feel after a victory.

“That’s the magic of football, that glow you get off of winning a game of football.”