How Scotland boss can use Euros playoff vs Finland to transform clouded tenure and breath new life into team

Appointed in July 2021, the Scotland boss has been proven to be a polarising figure with fans. Fiercely defensive of his tactics, his team and his management of them, the Spaniard once claimed the Scottish media had set an agenda against him and his squad following a 16-month run without a competitive win.

During the toughest of times, he had always insisted his team’s trajectory was taking an upwards turn. However, two failed qualification campaigns told a different story. Suffering a severe hangover from their 1-0 World Cup playoff defeat to Republic Of Ireland in October 2022, Martinez Losa and his players endured a toiling 2023.

Long-term injuries to key players Caroline Weir and Emma Watson had left them severely depleted. A humiliating 6-0 home defeat to the Lionesses last December had left them rock bottom of their Nations League group, as the death knell on his time in charge sounded. Frustrated, the fans’ aching desire to qualify for a major tournament were replaced by deafening calls for a change at the top.

While sold out stadiums were beginning to become the norm over the border, low attendances at a ghostly Hampden Park painted the outlook for the Scotland Women’s national team as bleak. Players appeared imprisoned by a possession based style of play, with star midfielder Erin Cuthbert even calling for the team “to be a bit more Scottish”.

But if the theme of his first three years in charge was pain, then 2024’s theme is recovery. Since the defeat to the Lionesses, Scotland have won seven of their eight games, scored 18 goals and conceded just one. Ahead of the two legged play-off tie against Finland, recovery can be upgraded to success if he can lead Scotland to their first major tournament since the 2019 World Cup - something he always claimed he could do.

The challenge of Finland arrives with its own scars though. Friday’s visitors were the team who first placed Scotland onto their downward spiral when they ended the dream of qualifying for the last Euros at Easter Road via a 95th minute goal from Amanda Rantanen.

The failure to qualify for the biggest Women’s Euros in history hurt Scotland. Forced to watch on as England and Northern Ireland took part, the tournament pushed women’s football into the stratosphere, and the knock on effect has been crippling. Righting the wrongs of that night over the next two weeks will aid its recovery in the years to come.

There’s no reason they can’t be confident of completing the job either. While some of Scotland’s recent wins were expected, the ease in which they navigated past a tricky Hungary side 5-0 on aggregate in their first playoff round provided extremely encouraging signs. The passing was fast, Cuthbert and Weir linked perfectly and Scotland played with an aggressive energy that can definitely be pinned as ‘Scottish’.

If they can replicate that performance against Finland on Friday, Martinez Losa will be on the verge of completing his - and Scotland’s - recovery arc.

When claiming there was an “agenda” against his management, it sounded like the final words of a beaten man. But with just two games standing between Scotland and qualification for Euro 2025, they have the chance to write their own story and firmly place the saltire in the ground come next summer.