… being a supporter of the Scottish football team, but what can you do?

You are born where you are born and there’s not a lot you can do about it, but if that place is in Scotland then be prepared to be on pills for high blood pressure by the time you are 35.

If there’s a team which is going to struggle it’s way through a group of “easy” opponents you can rest assured it’ll be Scotland.

If there’s a team which is going to throw away a seemingly easy victory, it’ll be Scotland.

If there’s a team that will flatter to deceive by starting a game or qualifying campaign in impressive style before spluttering to a disasterous end, it’ll be Scotland.

The only doubt that remains is why it comes as a surprise when it happens again time after time!

Each time a big tournament looms, the draw for qualifying is waited with much anticipation. The outcome is pretty much irrelevent though as we rarely pulverise those teams lesser than us so there’s not a huge advantage in drawing them as opposed to the bigger teams given the 3 points are anything but a certainty.

Which brings us to tonight. Scotland should be home and hosed as far as qualifying for next year’s World Cup is concerned, but instead we are yet again biting our nails with that usual feeling of dread in the pit of our stomachs.

Will we beat the Dutch? Doubtful given our results against other teams, but you just never know with us. We’ll certainly be hoping so but we should never be in the position of having to win the game yet even if we do, maybe still not qualifying.

What’s done is done though and the blame game can start tomorrow, and no doubt it will. For now though, it’s a case of hoping - something Scotland fans are a little too used to having to do!