The Scotland 'slap in the face' that Grant Hanley insists will be a wake up call for World Cup qualifiers

The veteran has had his ups and downs with the national team over the past 14 years but is confident the reaction will be positive

Grant Hanley knows better than most that a lengthy Scotland career requires an ability to roll with the punches.

Over the past 14 years he’s dished out his fair share of bloody noses with the national team - but the big defender has suffered a good few brutal put downs too. If thumping wins against international heavyweights like Spain and qualifying for back to back European Championships were the highs then failing to land a blow at both competitions and being dumped by Ukraine in a World Cup play-off at Hampden were certainly the lows.

Sunday night was another one of those agonising whacks back to reality. A slap in the face, as Hanley puts it, that felt all the worse because nobody expected it.

Scotland were battered by Greece in front of their own expectant fans. And Hanley’s face as he emerged from the dressing room confirmed the players felt it every bit as sorely as the Tartan Army. More so, even.

With half the job done in the Nations League play-off thanks to a first leg victory in Athens, Steve Clarke’s side were expected to finish Ivan Jovanovic’s side in style and deliver a thumping statement ahead of the World Cup qualifiers.

They barely laid a glove on the Greeks though. And Hanley - the longest serving outfielder in Clarke’s squad - was as mystified as anyone for the reasons behind the powderpuff performance.

One thing the 33-year-old is certain of though is this squad’s ability to lift itself off the canvas and fight back. Hanley knows they are a far better side than what was on show at Hampden. He said: “Of course we are. We showed that last Thursday, especially the first half.

“We showed that and we had the determination to get a result. For whatever reason, Sunday wasn't our night. We didn't perform anywhere near where we wanted to, defensively or with the ball we didn't get enough chances.

“So, a big disappointment. Still raw, obviously. For me to come and talk to you and debrief it, it's tough to put my finger on it. What I can say is we'll learn from it and we'll improve and we'll be back.

“Football's got a funny way of doing that to you. It doesn't take long to slap you in the face. It's certainly not been the first time in my career and I'm sure the boys will tell you the same.

“We've had a good result on Thursday night and then being slapped in the face a couple of days later. So it's how we react to that now, it's how we learn our lessons and move on.

“I don't think we'll go home and label it and put a number on it where it ranks on the disappointing list. Over the last few years, certainly since I've been involved here, there's been some real good moments but also some real bad moments as well.

“We’ll have setbacks. I think one thing the squad's always shown is the character and the belief to bounce back. So I'm sure we'll pick the bones of this and learn our lessons and react to it and I'm sure we'll be back.”

Hanley might be sure. But the Tartan Army appeared anything but convinced on Sunday evening in Mount Florida. The strides forward that appeared to have been taken in the Nations League had seen belief surge in the support.

Successive wins against Croatia, Poland and the first leg victory in Greece had a sold-out Hampden bouncing ahead of kick off. But it was the boos of a disgusted support that filled the stadium long before the final whistle and Hanley couldn’t blame them.

Vice captain John McGinn didn’t mince his words afterwards, labelling the performance “embarrassing” and warning that the result was a kick up the backside ahead of the World Cup qualifiers that will again pit Scotland against Greece as well as Denmark and Belarus.

McGinn, skipper Andy Robertson, goalkeeper Craig Gordon, Scott McTominay and Hanley are part of an experienced leadership group who will never shirk the tough questions.

And the Birmingham defender, who won his 61st cap, admits they will also be the first to look in the mirror and see where they could have done better.

He said: “This squad, nobody suffers fools and everybody's honest with each other. I'm sure everybody will have a good look in the mirror. Look where we could have done better and look where we went wrong. Draw on that experience from the past, where we have had setbacks and we've bounced back from it.

“The boos? Fans are always entitled to their opinion and that's the way football is. I’m sure we feel the same, we want to do better, we want to perform better. We want to get better results, certainly than we did on Sunday.

“So we understand all that and I think you learn as you go on that you can only control what you can control and at the minute for us that's obviously reacting to where we went wrong.

“As players we'll focus on ourselves and hope to do better.”