STEVEN Naismith admitted he was desperate to make his mark under Alex McLeish – because he knew he might not have got a second chance to make a first impression. Despite his fine early season form for league leaders Hearts, the 31-year-old was left out of the original squad and only called up after the withdrawal of Swansea City striker Oliver McBurnie. Preferred to Leigh Griffiths, he duly rewarded his manager with his eighth international goal in his 47 appearances and saw another given as a Berat Xhimshiti own goal as McLeish got a win on his competitive debut. His chances of reaching a half century of caps now burn brighter than ever.

“I’d felt I’d given myself as good a chance as possible of getting in the squad,” he said. “I was left out but with the call-offs, the manager phoned and asked me to come in. When that happened, I thought, ‘I have to make an impression here or that’s me done, really’. So I worked hard during the week in training. If there was a point to be made and the manager wanted to know something, I told him what I thought. The manager gave me the opportunity, I was rewarded with a start and I made an impact.”

As well deserved as the win was, Scotland were grateful to Allan McGregor for a fine save from Bekim Balaj. “The save was important as we went on to win the game but there are a lot of positives,”said the goalkeeper. “We created a lot of chances and collectively, the boys were brilliant. It sets us up for the rest of the group.”