Stephen McManus is excited by Scotland squad's potential
Former Scotland captain Stephen McManus is excited about the potential of the current Scotland squad
Gordon Strachan's squad face a trip to Vilnius to take on Lithuania on Friday before hosting Malta next week in two must-win fixtures that could decide their fate ahead of the 2018 World Cup.
After a tricky start to the campaign, a 2-2 draw against England in June has brought renewed optimism around Scottish football and McManus thinks the current squad has an exciting future.
"I think they are very good, there is a good blend of experience," he said at a William Hill event at Hampden Park.
"Stuart Armstorng is going to be a player who is a Scotland regular for the next few years, Kieran Tierney has come in and shown just how good a player he is right now, never mind in the future (and) Andrew Robertson has had a fantastic move to Liverpool which he fully deserves.
"You have very, very good young players coming through, but they are playing at an extremely high level which is key.
"You have the experienced players as well which you need, so the blend is very good and they look as if they want to represent Scotland, and win or qualify for a major tournament which would be a fantastic achievement."
That trio are all likely to be playing Champions League football this season following the successful qualifications of Celtic and Liverpool in the play-offs last week.
The experience of playing against the best teams in Europe could be crucial to the continued development of the current crop of Scotland players, with as many as six Celtic players in Strachan's squad.
Having a core of Celtic players could be critical according to McManus, who earned 26 caps for his country.
He said: "What you want is to fill your national team with a winning mentality and (players who) are comfortable with playing in big competitions and big games.
"Pressurised situations, pressure games, Celtic players do that on a regular occurrence.
"They are working under a fantastic manager in Brendan Rodgers who has taken them to a whole new level.
"If you have a core of players who are feeling good about themselves and come into training happy, confident within themselves, it can only rub off on the others."
McManus recently announced his retirement from the professional game and has stepped back into a coaching role with Motherwell after being told he would not get regular playing time this season, but played down a question about whether he could one day see himself working with the international setup.
"I was fortunate to go away with the under-21s to assist Scott Gemmill last year which was a tremendous experience," he said.
"I am starting my own journey which is great and I'm looking forward to it.
"Management is definitely something that would appeal to me but it's important that you learn how to be a good coach first and foremost and gain valuable experience.