Defiant Scotland striker sends 'we'll get it right' message to Tartan Army doubters as he points to bigger picture

Lyndon Dykes of Scotland is challenged by Duje Caleta-Car of Croatia in Zagreb | Getty Images

Despite his lack of goals for Scotland in recent times, Lyndon Dykes has urged any Tartan Army doubters to remember how they are mixing it with Europe’s best in the Nations League.

The towering Birmingham City frontman was given the nod over in-form Che Adams to start the 2-1 defeat to Croatia in Zagreb, but drew another disappointing blank in front of goal. Aussie-born Dykes has now gone 17 games without scoring for his adopted country.

But the 29-year-old has opted to look at the bigger picture instead, insisting it’s important for downbeat fans to remember how head coach Steve Clarke got the Scots promoted to the top tier of the competition.

Lyndon Dykes of Scotland (centre) during a training session at Lesser Hampden | Getty Images

Dykes is adamant Scotland have competed with the big nations in Group A1 despite a series of narrow one-goal defeats to Poland, Portugal and Croatia, with VAR denying them a priceless point on Saturday night. They will attempt to get off the mark at the fourth time of asking against the Portuguese - who lead the section - at Hampden Park tomorrow night.

Ahead of the visit of Cristiano Ronaldo and co, Dykes stated: “We’re determined to get it right. Football is tough when you’re on a long run and not winning games. Especially after the results we did get, winning and changing the way the Scotland national team had been for years. We’ve done that.

“Not, it hasn’t gone so well. But we’ve still got the same players, the same characters in the changing room. And we’ve got to this place on credit. Yes, at the moment it’s tough but we’re going to get through it. It doesn’t seem to be going our way right now.

“We had another good performance against Croatia but had no points to show for it. There are positives there. And listen, that’s what happens when you’re in the top group against these teams. Sometimes you don’t get the little things you need on your side. It was tough on Saturday night but I’m super-proud of the boys. We have to make sure we keep going because it will change for us.

He continued: “We always thought we could compete with the big nations. And we’ve done so well to get into this top tier. We’re playing top teams in every camp now. We’re not going away any more, playing teams where you’re expected to beat them easily. These are tough teams and every single player on the pitch has to be on it. The whole squad does.

“But football is about fine margins and right now, it’s just not going our way. That’s almost out of our control. So we have to stay positive and look forward. How do we turn it around against Portugal? Win the game. Make sure we get points on the board.

“In all the Nations League games we’ve played so far, that could have been the case. Tuesday is going to be a difficult game. Everyone knows that from when we played them last time. You know the players they have so it’s not going to be easy. We’re not going to rock up at Hampden assuming we’ll get points.

“But we also can’t think: ‘Poor us, it’s not going our way’. We have to work hard as a team and make it difficult for them. The crowd will support us and we must make it ugly for them. If we do that, we can win and come away with something.”