HAVING ended 30 years of hurt on Merseyside, banishing a mere 23 years of despair in his homeland should be a piece of cake for Andy Robertson.

The Scotland captain was of course part of the Liverpool side last season who finally won their first English top-flight title since 1990, a full four years before Robertson was even born. The significance of the triumph wasn’t lost on him though, nor was the wait that the Anfield fans had endured since last seeing their side crowned as the Kings of England.

He may have still been in short trousers when Scotland last qualified for a major tournament, but as a member of the Tartan Army before going on to lead his country, Robertson is acutely aware of how desperately the nation wants to bring an end to our own interminable wait to be invited to the party next summer. And just like in Liverpool, he believes that he and his team can do just that.

"It's very similar,” Robertson said. “When I first moved to Liverpool, you realised how desperate the fans and everybody associated with the club was to put that long wait right and get a Premier League title, which we managed to do.

"Ever since I was involved with Scotland, and even when I was with Dundee United seven years ago, you can feel the Tartan Army is missing going to big tournaments. They are desperate for it.

"We've come close before. I was involved in the Slovenia game away when we probably had to win to get a play-off for the last Euros and we ended up drawing.

"You can feel how much they want it, even if they're not in the ground. You can still feel how desperate they all are and hopefully we can do it for them.

"The outcome at Liverpool was a very good one and you could see the relief on a lot of people's faces and how excited they got with it, and we hope the Tartan Army and the whole of Scotland feel like that on Thursday night after the game."

And it’s not just in Scotland where the team will be drawing support, but from legends of Liverpool past and present, Scottish and otherwise.

“The gaffer (Jurgen Klopp) wished me all the best when I was leaving the stadium,” he said.

“I think he was one of Scotland’s biggest fans in the last one, I know he watched the Israel game in particular and celebrated when we won on penalties.

“Kenny (Dalglish) always wishes me well. He did that at the start of the week and no doubt he’ll text me tomorrow.

“So, I know they are both behind me and I know the whole of Liverpool, the club and at Melwood, are all behind me and wish the best. So, that’s nice.

“But we are doing it for our country this time and hopefully we can put a lot of smiles on people’s faces in this country.”

It would be somewhat ironic that having waited so long to celebrate the moment that Scotland once again earn their place back on the big stage, that the Tartan Army may be absent when the time finally arrives.

Not that the outpouring of joy either at the stadium among the players or in the living rooms at home will be blunted too much should Scotland manage to overcome Serbia and book that precious place at Euro 2020.

Robertson and his teammates would dearly love to have their footsoldiers behind them in person as they go into battle for that honour, but the captain says that their presence will certainly be felt in spirit.

“We all feel that,” he said. “We definitely do. We all feel that everyone’s behind us.

“You know the lads, you know your family are all behind you – but it’s still nice to feel the Tartan Army behind you as well and we definitely know that. We definitely feel the full country behind us.

“We know come tomorrow night it will be a big occasion. Of course, Sky have put it on for free for everyone, and I hope that everyone tunes in.

“And we’ll feel the love and passion of the supporters from their sofas or wherever they’re watching it. That’s what we’ve got to do.

"Obviously we don't see fans around and sometimes we'd have people visiting training at the start of the week, which has all been taken away, but you can feel it. All the lads are on social media and there's been a turn, which has been so nice to see.

"There had been a lot of negativity in the past, some of it rightly so because of results and performances we'd been putting in, but now under the manager and being eight unbeaten, there is a lot of positivity and I believe the whole country is right behind us for tomorrow night.

"I certainly feel it and all the lads feel it. There's no better feeling that when everyone's behind us and everyone is pulling in the same direction and everyone wants us to succeed. And we feel that.

“We’ll try and put in a performance that makes them proud and puts a smile on a nation that’s obviously struggled along with all the other countries.

"That's why when we go out there, we'll be representing all five million of us and we hope to make them all proud."