Kenny Dalglish: It was a great Scotland performance in Lithuania… but let’s no’ go aff our heids!

ANDREW Robertson rounded off the most memorable couple of weeks of his life by scoring a sensational goal for Scotland in the 3-0 win against Lithuania.

That came on the back of him making his debut for Liverpool against Crystal Palace and deservedly getting the Man of the Match award.

He then became a dad for the first time last week when his son, Rocco, was born.

I had the pleasure of meeting him after that Palace game and he is nice lad.

I said that when he signed for Liverpool, one thing I’d be able to guarantee is that he’d be made to feel welcome.

That’s all I was doing.

After all, football is a team game, whether you are on the park or part of a football club off the park.

I can’t influence Jurgen Klopp’s team selection, but I can make Andrew feel at home.

He will be “home” for Scotland’s next game, and a victory tomorrow night against Malta at Hampden to keep Scotland right in the hunt for a World Cup Finals play-off place will top it all off.

With Robertson in the team, Gordon Strachan will be feeling confident of another victory.

He played his part superbly well in Vilnius, and scored the second goal.

With hardly any back lift, he placed a beautiful, left-foot curling shot into the keeper’s top right-hand corner of the net.

I think maybe Andrew has been watching an old video of my goals to get some tips!

But, seriously, what a finish it was. No wonder everyone stood up to applaud.

Andrew was just one player who made a contribution.

All the other starters and the three substitutes played a part.

Overall, I thought it was a thoroughly-deserved victory and a very impressive performance.

There was pressure going into the game, and to perform in that manner showed the players have the right mentality.

You could see the confidence running through the team and also a wonderful desire and attitude.

The way they passed the ball, and the fact players came looking to take possession in tight areas, spoke volumes for the frame of mind everyone was in.

I think that stemmed from the England game.

Yes, we were very unlucky not to win that game at Hampden in June, but there many plus points to take from it.

Malta is next up and we must not be complacent.

I don’t want to hear talk of : “We’re going to take six or seven off them”.

That would be irresponsible.

Yes, we beat Lithuania and, yes, it was a fine performance, but let’s no’ go aff our heids!

We all have a duty to remain professional in the build-up to the game and the 90 minutes tomorrow night.

Wee Gordon, his staff, the players, supporters and media must remain calm and focused.

It’s not about running up a cricket score. It’s about winning the game and doing the right things to achieve the desired result.

We should beat Malta, that’s for sure.

But, remember, they were stuffy against England on Friday night, and it took them a while to break them down.

Hopefully, the effort the Maltese players put in will have taken a bit out of them for Hampden.

I think we have the ability and intelligence to win the game.

I was impressed with Matt Phillips and he has the pace and skill to cause problems.

Having the six Celtic players in the team also helps as they know what each other is doing.

So, if we get three points it takes us to 14 points with two games remaining.

It means we will have everything to play for at home to Slovakia and away to Slovenia.

I think that 20 points would get us into the play-offs.

Having had the privilege of representing my country at World Cups, I’d love for Gordon and the players to sample it all next summer.

I also think the Tartan Army deserve it.

They haven’t had too much to cheer in the past 20 years, but maybe the time is coming again.

They certainly enhance any tournament they’re at and it would be great for us all to share it with them.

You could see from their reaction in Lithuania on Friday what it means to them, and let’s hope this feelgood factor continues all the way into next summer.

But there is so much hard work ahead for Gordon and the players.

As I said, let’s not get carried away.

There is a job to be done tomorrow night and nobody must take their eye off of the ball.

We have recovered very well in the last two games to get things back on track in the group.

Let’s not spoil it against Malta.