Naismith: we will keep our nerve

The equalising goal from Lee Casciaro for Gibraltar now holds little significance save that it is the first the country has scored in the European qualifiers at Hampden.

But Gordon Strachan, the national coach, admitted it caused him 10 minutes of misery before Steven Fletcher restored the lead and Shaun Maloney, the Chicago Fire forward, conceded it was one of those moments when doubts can appear.

However, Scotland recovered. The most sceptical will point out that this resurgence was against a Gibraltar side that has lost 27 goals in five games but this overcoming of doubt has been integral to Scotland though Group D.

Even in the defeat to Germany in September, Scotland showed a defiance that was epitomised by Ikechi Anya's thrilling equaliser. There was a strong purpose against Georgia at Ibrox, the side came back from losing an early goal to draw in Poland and Scotland showed mental strength in the crucial victory over the Republic of Ireland at Celtic Park.

"We kept our nerve and I think that shows how far we have come on," said Steven Naismith of that moment of crisis at Hampden on Sunday.

"The mentality has changed a bit and no-one is panicking or getting worried. There was plenty of time left and we have good players, so it was only a matter of time before we created more chances and, luckily for us, we took them."

There was a sense throughout the build-up that Scotland rightly held a strong belief that they would prevail over the limited powers of Gibraltar.

"The pressure was on us, but we were confident and I think that showed with the way we played," said Naismith. "Even when we lost the goal, it didn't really faze and we continued doing the stuff that we had planned to do beforehand. It paid off."

Naismith was a significant player in Scotland taking a 4-1 half-time lead. He scored the fourth goal and also was fouled for the penalty that stretched the lead to 3-1.

"I haven't really scored enough goals for Scotland, so any one is good," he said of a record that now reads five goals in 36 matches for his country.

He added: "It was a game you go into feeling like you could get a goal and it was great for me."

Scotland now head for Dublin for a match against the Republic of Ireland on June 13 with the group now entering a crucial stage.

"We are in a fantastic position and I don't think we have to be bothered with what happened in Dublin," said Naismith before Ireland and Poland drew 1-1.

"After every round, because it's such a tight group, you'll look at the table, the other results and see what has to be done. But if you concentrate on yourselves, win your home games and take points away from home, you'll not be too far away. That's what we'll be doing."

There will be a break between Naismith completing his season's duties as an Everton player and then joining up with the Scotland squad for the Republic of Ireland match.

But he said: "It would be a big step if we could win in Dublin and we believe we can do it. We'll go in with a gameplan, but we showed in the first game we were the better team and we deserved to win. So I don't see why it needs to be any different in Dublin."

He added: "With them being at home, they might be forced to come at us a bit more and not sit as defensively, which might suit us. It's going to be a really tough game and we're going to have to be at our best, but we have the players here to win those games."

Scotland now face Ireland in June, with Georgia in Tbilisi and Germany at Hampden in September.

"The next three games will have a big bearing on the final outcome, but I say all the time the squad is competitive and we'll be up for it," he said.

"It's like any qualification campaign. The second-half and going into the last quarter is going to be the business end and you just have to make sure you are in a good position going into that period and force the other teams to maybe change their systems because they need to get something."