No Brown. No white flag.

Those who were opposed to the idea claimed it was tantamount to the Celtic captain picking and choosing when he wanted to play for his country and denounced the very idea as being unacceptable.

This is because, when it comes to football in this country, we would start a fight in an empty stadium.

For those who were in agreement with the idea of Brown finding time for club and country, myself included, the arrangement was based on nothing more than straightforward pragmatism.

Scotland's World Cup qualification campaign was in trouble, and when you're in trouble it's always handy to have a battle scarred veteran who can play a bit on your side.

The outcome was that Brown helped lift the side from a place where entry to the play-offs looked a forlorn hope to a situation where the national team once again had its destiny in its own hands.

Then came the ultimate irony.

Brown, whose presence in the team was decried by some, has now gone and got himself injured so badly he can't play in the last two Group F matches against Slovakia and Slovenia.

And the news of his unavoidable withdrawal from Gordon Strachan's squad has been received with all the solemnity of a death in the family.

Who's not wanted now?

It's all so typically Scotland, isn't it?

Brown comes back in and beefs up the side with that faraway look in his eye to intimidate the opposition.

His Celtic team-mate, Stuart Armstrong, emerges as an international player of note after making a Scotland debut described by the team manager as the best he has ever seen.

And then he drops out with injury as well as fate takes Scotland outside and delivers them a right good kicking.

But who said life was fair?

Sometimes you can even go a goal down to England, score a couple of wondrous free kicks to take the lead and still find time to concede a belated equaliser which snatches a draw from the jaws of victory.

What can you do?

So here's the deal; On Thursday at Hampden Park we trust in Gord to pick the right team, find the correct replacements for those who have fallen by the wayside due to wear and tear on the body and hope that Scotland can give Slovakia a lesson on a school night.

If you're the type who likes to accentuate the positive, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic.

Craig Gordon's recent form in goal for Celtic has been exceptional, with superlative saves against Ross County and Hibs as well as clean sheets at Ibrox and then against Anderlecht in the Champions League.

Then there's Kieran Tierney and Andrew Robertson. Enough said.

That Callum McGregor can play a bit as well.

Leigh Griffiths will bring an expectant hush to the National Stadium every time Scotland win a free kick in the area where he unleashed two bombs to almost destroy England.

The only problem, as Celtic discovered at the weekend, is that there is no facsimile for Brown.

But the captain's inability to play simply means someone else is challenged to bring a strength of personality to the team which lifts the players around him and imbues the crowd with a sense of belief.

We're in The Last Chance saloon and it's the choice between chucking out time and one for the road on the way to Slovenia next Sunday evening.

We wouldn't have it any other way, and that's just as well because we've developed this nineteen year long habit of taking ourselves on to a tightrope which has no safety net underneath it when it comes to qualification showdowns.

And a long, sequential list of of serious wounds have been suffered as a consequence.

Here we go again.

So, those who have tears to shed, prepare to shed them.

Those who have fears to confess, prepare to express them.

Those who have a sense of optimism undiminished by years of failure are also very welcome.

You'll all be in there somewhere on Thursday, whether you're inside Hampden or watching the game on the telly.

The inately pessimistic will believe that the loss of Brown and Armstrong is simply nature's way of telling Scotland that qualification for the play-offs was never meant to be in any case.

So we're taking on the Slovaks, the doom-mongers and the weight of history which shows no qualification for a major international tournament for almost two decades.

No pressure then.

And sometimes, just sometimes, that's the best way

• Hugh Keevins