Berti Vogts wore a scowl as he shuffled through Dumbarton's boardroom. Diarrhoea is sweeping through his Scotland squad and, even if it has not been induced by the prospect of today's make-or-break qualifier with Lithuania, a butt-clenching afternoon awaits.

"This has been my worst build-up to a game since coming here," said the German. A telephone call to the beleaguered Sven-Goran Eriksson in Istanbul might have eased his mood but, as a 1 p.m. meeting with his medical staff ticked closer to clarifying his selection options, this was no time to put Vogts's week into context. "It hasn't been the best preparation but you work with what you've got," he added.

At Hampden Park today, what Scotland have should prove more than adequate. Stomach bugs aside, Vogts has restored a sense of tentative optimism in Scotland's football. Victory against Lithuania, combined with Iceland failing to win in Germany, will guarantee a play-off place; even in a qualifying group as abysmal as this, the prospect of progress is progress enough.

There have been embarrassments, notably a draw in the Faroes and stuttering defeat in Kaunas, but those would be forgotten should passage to Portugal be obtained.

Kenny Dalglish denounced the national side as at their lowest ebb but a team sprinkled with youngsters of genuine promise will be roared on by Hampden's first capacity crowd in four years. Something, somewhere, must be going right.

"There was a lot of doom and gloom when I took over but this should be a period of optimism in Scottish football," said Vogts, who is two years into a four-year contract and well aware that the Scots have not been to a major finals since the 1998 World Cup. "It's been hard work for me, as a national coach, to get us this far.

"Look at the Old Firm in Europe last week: there was only one Scot (Celtic's Jackie McNamara) among the 28 who played. It's not easy moulding an international team when the two biggest clubs in the country are not playing Scots. People understood the situation but the biggest difference is that we have potential now.

"When I came here the under-21s would go eight months without a game. I've made sure that doesn't happen any more. England played an under-20s international on Thursday but we don't have anything like that. That's why we're trying to start an under-19s side and give (the juniors' coach) Rainer Bonhof a new set-up with which to work. That's why we have a Future Team. We have a crop of good young players and there will be a lot of talent coming through over the next three years. We just have to be patient."

Patience will be lacking in the din on Clydeside today, even if James McFadden, 20, and Darren Fletcher, 19, are included. Barry Ferguson, Colin Cameron and Steven Pressley have all spent more time on the toilet than the training ground this week.

Vogts hopes all three will be fit. Once his medical staff confirm as much, his focus will remain solely on events he can influence rather than on the game in Hamburg. If Iceland, whom the Scots defeated twice, win where they have never won, they will deny Scotland and the Germans to top the group.

"It will be far easier for Germany to beat Iceland at home than anyone in the play-offs - Spain, Holland, England or Turkey," added Vogts, who has rang his protege Rudi Voller to wish him luck. "They know that. All I know is that my Scottish boys need a major tournament to take them to the next level.

"It's been like a club rather than an international team this week. When I first came into this job the boys would sit down for dinner at our get-togethers, scoff it down and leave after about 10 minutes. Now they sit around chatting for hours after meals. It's like a family. That's important for the development of the squad.

"There's a new mentality to this side. If you look at the tapes of us drawing in the Faroes, we are unrecognisable now. We have special talents and fresh blood. As long as we play with more tempo than in Kaunas, we'll be all right."