Scotland captain Andy Robertson has dismissed the boos from a minority of fans following friendly defeats to Japan and Ivory Coast, insisting the Tartan Army is proud of the team's progress. The Scots lost 1-0 to Ivory Coast on Tuesday night at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, following a 2-0 defeat to Japan, with some supporters jeering at full-time in both matches.
However, Robertson noted that the team received a standing ovation during their lap of honour after the Ivory Coast game. He said: 'At the full-time whistle on Tuesday, I heard a couple of boos and some people weren’t happy. But when we did our lap of honour, the reception we got was magnificent. It was Scotland fans happy with what they’d seen. They’re happy with their team because we’ve just qualified for a World Cup - the first time since 1998.'
The Liverpool left-back acknowledged the frustration over the results but highlighted the positives, including the chance to test fringe players and a new 3-5-2 formation. He added: 'Under this manager, we’ve shown that when it comes to qualifiers, we’ve stepped up. People can argue that in the Euros we couldn’t take the next step by getting out of the group. So that’s the next step for us, that’s what we want to do and work towards in the summer. Those two games will help us do that.'
Scotland will head to the United States in June for their first World Cup in 28 years, with their opener against Haiti on June 14 in Boston. Robertson is confident the team will be ready, saying: 'We’re annoyed at not winning. We want to win every game. But the people in the stands were proud of the lads and the performance in the second half.'
