THE football nation may be reclining in a collective depression but there are signs of hope for individuals.

The Scotland squad's trip to Serbia deserves to be sponsored by Dignitas given its likely impact on group survival which will be measured, and felt, after the match in Novi Sad.

However, there is an opportunity for redemption for a squad that has failed to win in five Group A matches and the chance, too, for others to make an impact after being left out of the starting XI in Friday's defeat to Wales.

The suspension of Robert Snodgrass, the injury to Steven Fletcher and the knock sustained by Kenny Miller shortens the odds that Steven Naismith and Jordan Rhodes will start against Serbia.

Naismith, at 26, was blunt about what Scotland had to do in Serbia and beyond to convince the growing battalion of doubters. "We can't continue to say we are progressing but not producing it on the pitch," he said after training yesterday.

"The group table obviously isn't telling lies. We've lost three games and haven't got a win yet. That's where the immaturity maybe comes in. We need to grow up and face facts. If you are in the team, you need to go out and perform and get results."

This is distilled Naismith. Intellectually, he has accepted Gordon Strachan's injunction that only players performing regularly with their club sides will play for the national team. But he is also ready to seize a jersey when the chance presents itself.

The former Rangers player, who said yesterday it was only recently that he felt his knee had fully recovered from the cruciate injury and the subsequent surgery, said of his absence from Everton's starting line-up: "The longer it goes on, the more difficult it will become. Hopefully Tuesday is another chance to get in the team and show what I can do for Scotland."

Naismith uses his omission from the side as a sign that Scotland have improved. "I still believe progress is being made when I look at the quality in the squad. As a forward-going player, just looking at the players in my position tells me that. I'm not getting a game now, whereas a year or two ago I was playing in most of the games," he said.

He is aware that Strachan today will be picking through the debris of Friday night and trying to select a team that can offer long-term hope and short-term relief.

Naismith touched diplomatically on the problems against Wales when he said: "It was there for all to see that we made a nervy start. If you look through the team, you would say it was a bit more inexperienced than usual."

Strachan now must decide whether to opt for a more experienced side while offering an opportunity to start Jordan Rhodes. The Blackburn Rovers player, signed for £8m from Huddersfield Town in the summer, has scored 20 goals in 32 matches since his move.

In only two starts for Scotland, he has scored three goals. Cynics may state that these goals came against Australia and Luxembourg. Realists will protest that Scotland will not create too many chances against Serbia and Rhodes is a proven taker of opportunities.

At 23, too, he is hardly a callow youth. Rhodes is as canny with press as he is with a free header from six yards but he was keen on the wake of the Wales defeat to declare an ambition to profit from the loss of points and players. "If I am called upon I will be ready," he said. "I will try my best and that's all I can do.

"I approach every game in the right manner and this one will be no different. " He added: "I don't know what the manager's thoughts are for the Serbia match and at the end of the day that's his call to make. I have been doing well for my club and if called upon for my country I would do my very best."

The only other alternative for the lone striker role would be Miller. At 33, the Vancouver Whitecaps striker came on against the Welsh and his supporters will point out that he harried well, ran into dangerous positions and linked well with Chris Burke. Detractors will state that he missed from two good opportunities in the air and may be hampered by a knock to his knee.

If Strachan resists the temptation to stay with Miller, he may believe that he should give Rhodes support. The Blackburn striker is best at moving into space and Scotland may use Naismith in a wide position or just in behind Rhodes.

The absence of Snodgrass creates a vacancy in midfield and this could be used to accommodate Naismith. There are others who did not advance their case on Friday in the middle of the park and Strachan could bolster that area with the more physical presence of Charlie Mulgrew, deploying Steven Whittaker at left-back.

The glaring problem for Scotland is that not only is Rio unattainable but that the slide down the rankings continues with a pace akin to Demis Roussos from the high board. This makes future qualification more problematic. The prospect of a continued absence from finals does not just haunt supporters.

"It definitely makes guys like myself, who are coming to the middle of our careers, think about it," Naismith admitted.

This is why the Serbia match, utterly irrelevant in terms of Group A, becomes highly significant.

"Our target is just to start winning games, that's the bottom line. We haven't picked enough points up. It's not about setting bigger targets than that," said Naismith.

It may be a modest ambition but it will assume a prominent stature in Novi Sad tomorrow night.