World Cup: Scotland motivated by Euro 2024 hurt – Ryan Christie

Christie isn’t the only one to have such hopes. A nation is waiting patiently.

It’s down to the standards set by Christie, his team-mates and head coach Steve Clarke – who “completely changed the set-up” of the national team.

“When I first joined international football, I know I was a bit younger and probably a bit quieter, but I was counting down the days until I could go back home,” the 31-year-old explained.

“It’s the polar opposite now. If we’re meeting up on a Monday, everyone flies up on the Saturday night to spend an extra day with each other – it’s brilliant.”

Key to that is the trust Clarke has in his players. Most know he’s as loyal as they come on the pitch, but off it is as important for Christie.

“He puts a big amount of trust in us in terms of if we have a day off and play golf or something, there’s full trust that we’re not going to take advantage,” he added.

“Boys that are going to the World Cup now have been on a journey of five, six, seven years with the manager.

“I think after the Denmark game was one of the rare times I’ve seen him properly smiling and enjoy himself a little bit, which was cool to see. For us as players, we knew how much it would mean to him to tick that off his list.

“For me, he’s got to go down as one of the great, great Scottish managers of all time.”