Ryan Christie says Scotland 'won't get ahead of ourselves' after upsetting Spain

But manager Steve Clarke's note of caution was fully absorbed by Ryan Christie.

Clarke was waiting on his men after their Hampden lap of honour to remind them their Euro 2024 qualification campaign had only just begun.

Two left-footed strikes from Scott McTominay earned Scotland a 2-0 win over top seeds Spain to put Scotland three points clear in Group A and five ahead of Norway and Georgia.

But Christie is well aware of the tough tests that lie ahead following opening home wins against bottom seeds Cyprus and a Spain team still in transition following their World Cup disappointment and the appointment of Luis de la Fuente as head coach.

Ahead of a trip to Oslo and the visit of Georgia in mid-June, Christie also pointed that they would need to improve on last year's summer assignment - which saw them lose to Ukraine in the World Cup play-offs and suffer a 3-0 UEFA Nations League defeat against the Republic of Ireland.

"We are trying not to get too ahead of ourselves," the Bournemouth player said. "The gaffer touched upon that as soon as we got in. Obviously it's an amazing night and a massive win against a big team but we are only two games into the group.

"We need to go away to Spain, away to Norway, away to Georgia, all these tough places, and pick up results there as well. If we do that then we can start believing.

"We couldn't have asked for a better start but we have stressed to each other that we don't want to get too carried away.

"Obviously it's a massive camp in June, especially given it's the off-season. We were a bit frustrated last off-season with the play-off against Ukraine and falling a little bit short.

"I'm sure everyone will be looking after themselves, ready to come into those big games."

Nevertheless, the win over a country which dominated world football little over a decade ago is further sign of the momentum which has been building under Clarke.

Scotland have now won a total of eight consecutive qualifying group games, either side of winning promotion to the top tier of the Nations League.

"The gaffer has a real core of players and everyone is coming in and playing their part now," Christie said. "It's been like that for the best part of two-and-a-half years now.

"Everyone knows what we can achieve together as a group. And when you get to play at Hampden, with the way it is now, you feel that anything is possible."

<p>The article <a href="https://www.planetsport.com/soccer/news/ryan-christie-says-scotland-get-ahead-after-upsetting-spain">Ryan Christie says Scotland 'won't get ahead of ourselves' after upsetting Spain </a> appeared first on Planetsport.com.</p>