Scotland learnt harsh lessons in Italy defeat - Darren Fletcher

Scotland midfielder Darren Fletcher admits they learnt harsh lessons in their friendly defeat by Italy.

Scotland only mustered one shot at goal - Matt Ritchie's shot fizzed wide in the 78th minute - during their 1-0 loss in Malta, where they begin their World Cup qualifying campaign in September.

"There were a lot of lessons to be learned," Fletcher said. "The pitch was very difficult and we didn't keep the ball well at times, and we are disappointed about that. But the attitude was good and the application was good and everyone stuck at it right to the end."

Fletcher felt it was useful to play against Italy's 3-5-2 formation.

The West Brom player added: "We talked about how good a side they are and how we deal with that and playing in these conditions out here.

"When you lose football games you learn from them, and playing top-class sides there is plenty to learn from.

"The thing about our lads, the spirit and determination and dedication is there, if we can just improve a little bit on the ball and keep possession a bit better and maybe engage them a bit higher up the pitch and not be as deep and sat on the edge of our box. So plenty to learn."

Scotland next face France in the Euro 2016 hosts' final warm-up match on Saturday.

"The motivation is high," Fletcher said. "We will look over this game, we will learn. It's great preparation and build-up to the World Cup qualifiers."

The former Manchester United midfielder aims to be a major part of that campaign after starting only two of Scotland's 10 Euro 2016 qualifiers.

The 32-year-old won his 72nd cap on Sunday but he would have been on far more had it not been for the illness that threatened his career while at Old Trafford.

And he wants to get back to starting regularly for his country after reviving his career at The Hawthorns.

"It's one of the next steps for me, definitely," he said. "I knew there were going to be challenges ahead for me after the problems I had. I was fully aware of that and ready to accept them.

"In football you find yourself battling and challenging all the time. As soon as you settle for thinking, 'I'm playing every week for West Brom', football can come back and bite you really quickly.

"For me, my motivation is there every day. I'm desperate to get back in the starting line-up. I want to be a big part of helping Scotland qualify.

"I feel my form is good, I feel fit, I feel strong. On reflection, going back to even the beginning of the last campaign, I feel a million times better than I did then, which shows how far I have come.

"I treat every training session and every game as I always have done, to try to impress the manager.

"The determination and drive is still there. All throughout my career I am constantly battling to impress and to stay in team. I'm fully aware of how quickly it can be taken away and I don't want anything to be taken away."