Steven Naismith says the time has come for Scotland for their efforts under Craig Levein to translate into a successful World Cup qualifying campaign.
The national team failed to reach Euro 2012 in the manager’s first foray, being pipped into a play-off spot by the Czech Republic.
Serbia travel to Hampden on Saturday to kick off a group full of quality sides but Naismith believes Scotland have every chance, provided they pull together all the right components.
“Nobody can deny there has been progress, a lot of progress made from where the national squad was before he took over,” the Everton forward said of Levein’s tenure.
“We've all now had experience in qualifiers. It's not as if it is a new squad coming together. We've been together for a while now, which goes a long way.
“Now we need to turn that into performances on the park at the qualifying stage, not doing just in friendlies.
“We need to show we are capable and that what the manager has been working towards is now paying off.”
After Saturday’s match with Serbia, Macedonia will be next in line at Hampden, before an away double header with Wales and Belgium in October.
“It is really exciting for the whole squad,” Naismith said of the campaign ahead. “I think it is because a lot of the boys are playing at a high level, week in, week out for their clubs.
“They are all hungry to play and push that on to the national team. That's definitely exciting.”
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