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International Friendlies

Mar 23, 2018 at 7.45pm UK

Scotland
0-1
Costa Rica

FT(HT: 0-1)

Urena (14')

Build-up

Match Report

Football

Scotland boss Alex McLeish hopes "to get a bit of bravado back"

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 22 March 2018

New Scotland manager Alex McLeish hopes to "compete with the best teams" in Europe and the world by sending his players out with a bold approach.

Alex McLeish has said that he intends to bring "a bit of bravado back" to the Scotland national side as he targets a place in the Euro 2020 finals.

The 59-year-old was appointed as Gordon Strachan's successor last month for a second spell in the Hampden Park hotseat, tasked with picking his players up following another disappointing qualifying campaign last time out.

A new era for Scottish football begins on Friday when Costa Rica travel to Glasgow for a friendly, with McLeish hoping for a confident and bold display from his players to get supporters excited once more.

"We want to qualify for the Euros. That is our number one goal and we will never have that out of our minds," he told reporters. "It is not something to worry about, it is something face head-on and love it.

"We want to get a bit of bravado back into people's mentality and believe that we can compete with the best teams in Europe, if not the world."

McLeish also revealed at his pre-match presser that Charlie Mulgrew will skipper Scotland against World Cup-bound opponents Costa Rica.