Craig Levein takes his side to Spain with a "nothing to fear" attitude ahead of the make or break game against their hosts on Tuesday night. Win and Scotland make the play-offs for EURO2012; draw and we have to hope the Czech Republic lose against Lithuania on the same night. Craig Mackail-Smith was the hero as he scored his first goal in his international start debut against Liechtenstein in the Rheinpark stadium. The goal and result took Scotland to second place in Group I, one point ahead of the Czechs, before the game against the world and European champions who are looking to complete a 100% record in this campaign. The Scotland manager, who revealed Barry Bannan was a concern with an Achilles injury and that Charlie Adam had picked up a knock, is looking to take the uncertainty away from that scenario by securing a win over the Spanish. He said: "Our intention was to move into second place in the table and now we are in the position where the second place is ours to lose. We have a group of players who recover quickly, they are a fit bunch of guys and they are in a position I would have taken at the start of the campaign, where if we win the game we finish second, that's a fact. It is a tall order, we understand that but there is nothing for us to fear, that is the important thing, there is nothing to fear. We are playing the world champions, of course, but we are in the position where if we win the game we qualify. I believe wholeheartedly in the players and their ability to rise to the challenge. We can't go in the game relying on what happens in Lithuania, we have no influence over that. So it makes complete sense for me to do everything I can to win the game on Tuesday night. Of course we recognise it is difficult but we have nothing to fear and I can assure you that the lads will run themselves into the ground attempting to get that second spot." Scotland should have scored more goals as Steven Naismith had missed three good chances before Brighton striker Mackail-Smith, playing in place of injured Kenny Miller, headed Phil Bardsley's cross over Peter Jehle in the 32nd minute to secure the three vital points. Levein, though, played down his side's profligacy, saying: "I was pleased with how we played for long spells. What we didn't do is get the second goal which would have made it easier for us. It is not a concern because we were in positions to score goals and if we keep doing that we will score goals. But you can't compare today's game with the Spain game, they are two different matches. We will be ready for the game on Tuesday and we have one thought in mind and that is to win the match The big plus point is Craig Mackail-Smith getting the goal, that will do his confidence a lot of good. He is a late developer and those types of players really excite me He has experience in club football and is improving and of course he will get a massive lift after scoring a goal in his competitive debut." Levein could still be without Miller if his recovery from a groin injury does not improve dramatically in the next couple of days. The manager did have some words on the performance of the other experienced player who he thought would miss out, captain Darren Fletcher who joined the squad late after recovering from a bout of tonsillitis. Levein said: "He went above and beyond the call of duty. He was excellent again tonight. He can't be 100% after his illness during the week but he does it again, he turns in another fantastic performance and I am thrilled to bits." The scorer of the goal, Mackail-Smith was more than pleased with the win than his effort. He said: "Three points was the main aim. It was a great performance from the boys. Hopefully we'll have a similar performance against Spain. We kept the ball well, that was the main thing. We made them work and we created chances. It's going to be harder on Tuesday against world-class opposition but we'll do the best we can."
Source: FOOTYMAD
