David Turnbull has never seen Scotland qualify for a major tournament at Under-21 level, which only fuels the fire in his belly to help his nation go one step closer on Friday night.

After a 1-0 win in Lithuania thanks to a goal from his former Motherwell midfield partner Allan Campbell, Turnbull and his Under-21 teammates find themselves in with a chance of ending that qualification drought.

Speaking ahead of the youngsters clash with table-toppers Czech Republic, the 21-year-old said: “There’s a lot riding on Friday night for us as players. The manager speaks at length about our ability to carry out the game plan and if we can play to our full potential and execute everything we’ve worked on, then there’s no reason we can’t close that gap to one point between us and Czech Republic.”

The previous meeting between the two sides highlighted how difficult it is to separate them. A goalless draw away from home was another example of the Scots shrewd defence which has shipped just two goals in the six Group Four games played so far.

A year has passed since that clash in Czech Republic and a lot has changed for Turnbull.

A full recovery from a knee operation which kept him out of that trip last October, a move to Celtic quickly followed by his debut – it has been a memorable year for the gifted midfielder.

“It’s been a special year or so for me personally and I just hope I can build on it. It’s been strange without any supporters at the games and obviously it’s going to be the same on Friday night too.

“The support of the fans plays a big part but it’s something we’ve had to get used to for now and we can’t allow any of that to affect us as players at club level or for country.”

A strong mind-set is something that is clearly a big part of Turnbull’s character, who understands the importance of keeping a level head in football after overcoming surgery last year to return to full fitness.

He said: “It’s a cliché, but you really can’t afford to get too high when things are going well or too low when things are going bad.

“Now, it’s about continuing that hard work for club and country. We’ve worked hard this week in training and believe we can go in to Friday and get a result, but we know just how big a test that will be.”