RTÉ analyst Kenny Cunningham believes Gordon Strachan's sabre-rattling has heaped the pressure on his Scotland side ahead of tonight's Euro 2016 qualifying Group D clash with Ireland at Celtic Park.
"It is not going to be Celtic Park, tomorrow it is Scotland's park," Strachan said yesterday when asked about potentially large support for Ireland in Glasgow.
"There will be 50,000 plus Scotland fans in there. That is Scotland's territory and they are coming into Scotland's territory."
Former Ireland international Cunningham thinks making the contest into a blood-and-thunder affair won't suit Strachan's side however.
"I'm surprised that he's ratcheting it up [the tension] to that extent because I don't think it suits Scotland to make it into a real physical encounter," he told RTÉ Sport.
"For the game to be played at breakneck speed, crunching tackles, an in-your-face type of game, I don't think it suits them the type of game they're playing these days.
"It's more of a possession-based game, they've got a lot of technical players. They want to control the game and dictate in the central area of the pitch.
"There will be a competitive edge to the game and the first 20 minutes will be helter-skelter, but I'm sure the message from Strachan will be 'be fired-up, apply yourselves and show a physical element to your game' but also 'rein it in, keep your emotions under control and play the type of football that we're capable of playing', which I think could cause Ireland a few problems.
Cunningham believes the onus will be on Scotland to chase the game due to Ireland's three-point advantage, but he believes Martin O'Neill's side can get a result if they adopt a bold approach.
"There's a slight bit more pressure on the Scottish players," he said. "They're playing catch-up to a certain extent, because of how well we've started the group, but they're playing some good football. They're dangerous opponents for us.
"It's amazing how the dynamic might change. We're perceived as having made a great start but if they can turn us over, we'll probably all end up on seven points and with Scotland having played Poland [drew 2-2] and Germany [lost 2-1] and got them out of the way they'd probably feel they have a slight advantage over us.
"To use a boxing analogy, if we take a step back towards the ropes they'll roll over us. But if we're brave enough to go toe-to-toe with them and start swinging in the centre of the ring we'll take something from the game."
