George Burley has placed Scotland's failed World Cup campaign firmly in the past and believes Saturday's friendly with Wales signals the start of a new chapter.
Despite intense speculation over his own future, Burley remains in the hotseat for now and is determined to use the clash in Cardiff to mould a squad capable of competing when qualifying for the European Championships gets under way.
Asked if the friendly in the Welsh capital was the start of a new campaign, Burley declared: "It's already started. You move on from the last one. I was asked the question: 'Do you think you are starting from scratch?' I don't think we are."
He added: "We have built a good team spirit and our performance level got better as the World Cup campaign went on. Against Macedonia and Holland, I thought we had two exceptional performances.
"We just missed out on getting to the play-offs. But we have spoken about it and we just have to keep improving. It's all about progression. Wales is a big game for us.
"We are looking to keep progressing, we are looking to win matches and get a squad that's strong enough to qualify for a major championships, which Scotland hasn't done for a number of years now.
"Progression is key and I feel that we are improving and we have a hungry squad and I think we are getting better with each game.
"Saturday's game will be a good test, I'm looking forward to it, the preparation is good and we will have a look at some new players. So it promises to be an exciting game."
Copyright (c) PA Sport 2009, All Rights Reserved.
