Steven Whittaker: Republic of Ireland clash "massive" to Scotland's Euro 2016 hopes

Steven Whittaker has admitted that Scotland's qualifier against the Republic of Ireland is "massive", but says it is not the be all and end all of their Euro 2016 hopes.

The two sides face off at Celtic Park tomorrow night looking to hold down a top-two spot in Group D.

Victory for Ireland will see them move six points clear of their opponents, although Whittaker was initially quick to play down the importance of the crunch meeting.

"It's not going to stop you getting to where you want to go if you don't get the result," the 30-year-old is quoted as saying by FIFA.com. "It's going to be right up there, with all the hype that's coming with this game. It's massive and we want a positive outcome in the end.

"We don't tend to concentrate too much on the opposition, the manager's got us thinking about what we're doing and how we're going to create danger for the opposition. It's a home game, so we're looking to be the more positive side.

"We're fairly evenly matched at the moment, they're ahead of us but they've probably had slightly easier fixtures. It's a big game and the result is going to be massive. But we feel at home with the crowd and we're very positive going into the game."

Poland currently lead the standings, while world champions Germany are down in third place.