WILLIE MILLER: If the Tartan Army are at fever pitch just now, what will they be like if we do qualify?

If Willie Miller was any more laid-back, he’d be horizontal. There’s not really too much that puts him up or down. But this Scottish football legend, figuring prominently at the moment in BBC Scotland’s Icons of Football television series, is getting excited.

It’s fair to say that’s not his default position. As a radio pundit, he’s not one for ranting and raving, shouting and screaming, but measured Miller might make an exception tonight if Scotland can boldly go where no other Scotland team has gone before and stay longer than three group games at a major tournament.

Sixty-five-times capped by his country — and it would have been more had injury not intervened — Miller was one of the first players to be inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame.

Scan down that roll of honour and those names represent the best of our glorious game. But they have something else in common. None of them, having qualified for a World Cup or European Championship, were part of a team which went any further.

Cue the class of 2024. Steve Clarke’s side stand on the brink of football history. Scotland were blown away by hosts Germany on the tournament’s opening night but a battling Group A draw with Switzerland in midweek has kept them in the frame to go further. Beat Hungary in Stuttgart tonight and we’re there.

Miller smiles: ‘I’m not nervous, I’m excited and I know that’s not a word I often use. I’m excited about the prospect of Scotland managing to get themselves out of the group, which lots of us former Scotland players have endeavoured to do for decades now, and there’s always been some kind of formula which gets in our way, usually goal difference.

‘We know that, having got a point against Switzerland, we have to beat Hungary to get the job done.’

The former Aberdeen captain went to the World Cup in 1982 and then again four years later. The Tartan Army had their dreams dismantled and it’s been a recurring theme. Miller wonders if Germany is prepared for an extension to Scotland’s stay.

‘If the fans are at fever pitch just now, how are they going to be if we do qualify for the next stage?’ he ponders. ‘It will be euphoria, it will be a scramble for tickets and then another scramble for accommodation. And it will take the players to a different level.

‘The first Scottish team to qualify out of the group stage — that gives you legendary status because we haven’t been able to do that before.’

Scotland laid the foundations in Cologne on Wednesday night with a performance against Switzerland which allowed them to move on from the misery of Munich.

Miller says: ‘It was a good, strong performance, not perfect by any means but it was hard-fought and well-deserved.

‘Going into the tournament, the likelihood was that we weren’t going to get anything from the opening game against the Germans and if we could draw with Switzerland, then beat Hungary, you would hope that would get you qualified for the next phase.

‘I think the team’s clearly capable of playing better. Obviously, there was a marked improvement in the performance against the Swiss. The energy was good but I don’t think the manager or the players would be going over the top about the performance.

‘It’s given them the belief that they can beat Hungary but it’s going to be difficult. I’ve watched both their games so far and their manager (Marco Rossi) has rightly said they’ve been unlucky to have zero points on the board.’

Miller, who will give his expert analysis on BBC Radio Scotland tonight, sees plenty room for more improvement in what Scotland can deliver, with some key players well capable of offering more.

‘We haven’t seen the real John McGinn yet but he sets such a high standard for club and country that it’s difficult to do that every time,’ says Miller.

‘The goals he brings, the energy, the enthusiasm. I think John, himself, would acknowledge that he hasn’t made his usual impact. Maybe Callum McGregor as well. These guys are the engine of your team but it’s been a long, gruelling season and they’ve both played a lot of games.

‘That takes its toll. But we know what they’re capable of and you stay faithful and loyal to them because you know what they offer, both on and off the park.

‘The authority they have and the respect they hold within the squad. Their best is still to come and hopefully that’s against Hungary.’

How does the man once dubbed the best penalty-box defender in the world by Sir Alex Ferguson reckon Scotland did defensively against the Swiss during what felt like a nervy 90 minutes?

‘I thought they defended set-pieces quite well,’ he offers. ‘They tried to play a high line and they did it well. VAR stepped in twice to give offside against the Swiss.

‘Anthony Ralston looked a bit heavy-legged in the second half, maybe not surprising playing at that level after only six league starts last season for Celtic, but he stuck at it and showed a great attitude. With so little football under his belt, the two full games will probably help him for this third match.

‘I think generally they were okay. I don’t think it was rock solid but when they had to defend balls into the box Grant Hanley was a strong presence. And I think Angus Gunn did well. He took a bit of stick after the Germany game and came back strongly. He made some important saves. I think a lot of what went wrong in the first match was sorted out on Wednesday night.’

Miller oversaw the development of Scott McKenna as a player when he was Aberdeen’s director of football and gives him a glowing vote of confidence as injured Kieran Tierney’s likely replacement. But he reckons any talk of Scotland switching to a back four is misplaced.

‘Clarke’s been playing a back three for a long time now, in nearly all the matches, and, even without Kieran Tierney, I don’t see him switching to a four,’ says Miller. ‘There would have to be more reason than that to change shape.

‘McKenna’s a good deputy for Tierney. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s quick, he’s physical, he gets tight on people, he’s got good recovery, he’s good in the air in both boxes, so I think he’s the ideal replacement. He’ll slot in readily with no bother at all. He’s a reliable centre-back.’

That could be the only change, with Che Adams likely to continue as the main striker, but Miller thinks there could still be a part to play for Lawrence Shankland.

‘Stevie Clarke doesn’t tend to surprise you too much and he’s a loyal character as well,’ notes Miller. ‘In the first game, Adams had none of the ball, it was very difficult for him, but he was much better against Switzerland and you would think he’ll stay in the starting line-up with the likes of Shankland and (Ryan) Christie on the bench if you need them later in the game.

‘I think that’s the way I’d be looking at it. Same formation and not too many changes. And taking that upbeat feel they seem to have after the Switzerland game into this one against Hungary.

‘But believe me, it’s going be tough. Hungary want the win as well. Anything less is no good to either team so it should be an open, attacking game.’

Miller hopes the Scotland players appreciate what it means to play tournament football and seize the opportunity in front of them.

He adds: ‘It’s brilliant, it’s the pinnacle of your international career, if you can play against the top players and the top teams. You want to pit your wits against the best and I was fortunate enough to do that. So these players should take great credit for being there.

‘I know we keep saying we’ve never got out of the group stage but, hey, it’s good to get there. The country’s enjoying it, it’s given us all something to celebrate and, if we can go a bit further, that would be a fantastic achievement.

‘From a player’s point of view, it’s where you want to be. Most of these guys are sampling the Euros for a second time. They’ll have learnt from the first time, they’ve grown up together as international footballers and this tournament in Germany is something special.

‘Hopefully the players can take this experience further than any other Scotland team has managed before — and we’ve had some great international teams in the past, so it would be amazing if they could rewrite the records.

‘This could put them in the history books. When you look back and you see the quality of the players we had in the 1974 and ’78 World Cup squads, on to ’82 and ’86 when I played, then 1990 and ’98, the last one we were at. Add to that the Euros in ’92 and ’96 and you’re talking about a lot of top teams which got to these tournaments and gone no further.

‘We’ve been so close, so many times, and somehow we find a way of coming straight home. So these guys have a chance to make history.’