Liam Cooper has called on Scotland to shore up its defence. 

The Leeds United captain started for Steve Clarke's side as they were defeated 1-0 at home to Northern Ireland.

Conor Bradley's deflected strike in the first half was enough to settle the friendly contest at Hampden, and in truth, it was no less than the visitors deserved.

Scotland never got going and were as toothless up top as they were sloppy at the back. And it's an issue that Cooper insists needs to be sorted as a matter of urgency heading into Euro 2024 this summer.

"We're gutted," the 32-year-old told Viaplay. "It's not the camp we wanted. It was a disappointing result tonight and we've got to be ready come June. We'd rather get those performances out of the way now. 

"I don't think we've become a bad team overnight, but we've got to improve. I'm sure we will, and come May when we're back together we've got to be ready to go, as this game waits for nobody.

"We've got to stop conceding goals. We prided ourselves on that during the qualifying campaign. I think that's 19 goals in seven games. The gaffer has been onto us all week saying 'That's not us,' it's not the team we want to be. We've got to step up to the plate and take responsibility on the pitch. 

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"We've got a lot of leaders in that dressing room - you're never too far from turning it around. We've got to get back to ourselves, and quickly."

Asked how the team goes about fixing the current issues, the defender responded: "It's difficult. It's not like club football when you get every day to work on things, but we've got to snap out of it. 

"It's got to be pedal to the floor and keep working hard. We'll try to get back to what we're used to which is conceding fewer goals and taking our chances when they come.

"Ideally you want every camp to be a good camp. It's not gone that way. We've just got to get back to ourselves. We've got a lot of top quality and come May be ready to hit the ground running."