The ill-feeling which exists between the supporters of the Ibrox and Pittodrie clubs and the fans of the bitter Easter Road and Tynecastle rivals will ensure the decibel levels are deafening throughout both of those showpiece matches.

Will that be the case when Scotland return to the Mount Florida venue in November to play their penultimate Nations League fixture against North Macedonia?

If Andy Robertson and his team-mates perform as well as they did against their struggling opponents in their Group B1 outing over in Skopje earlier this month then it very well might.

But if there is a repeat of the dire showings in the defeats to Switzerland, who benefited greatly from their hosts being reduced to 10 men in just the 11th minute, and Slovenia then it very much will not.

The Hampden Roar – a phrase which originated back in the 1930s when the ground attracted some of the largest attendances in the global game, like the British and European record 149,415 crowd which watched Scotland beat England 3-1 in 1937 – is famous around the world.

This year it has been more like The Hampden Snore. The disappointing displays in the four fixtures which the national team have played at their spiritual home, and they only got on top against minnows Curacao in their World Cup send-off friendly back in May when the visitors had a man sent off, had a great deal to do with that.

When they perform at their very best and record positive results there are no problems with the vibe within the stadium, none at all.

Has anyone who was fortunate enough to be at the momentous 4-2 win over Denmark last November ever been a part of such an epic, frenzied, emotional, joyous, raucous, glorious, historic occasion? Those 90 minutes are seared into the subconscious of all of those who were present forever.

A Scotland fan in the stands at Hampden (Image: Andrew Milligan)

However, when Scotland do struggle to hit the heights at Hampden, and that has been more often than not of late, you can sometimes hear a pin drop. That distinct lack of vocal backing unquestionably has a negative impact on the players out on the park. That is a serious problem which needs to be addressed.

The boys in dark blue have lost eight of their last 16 home matches, more defeats than they suffered in their previous 36 games. They have slumped to three consecutive reverses on their own turf in the Nations League for the first time ever. They have been unable to keep a clean sheet in their ain midden in nine outings now, their worst run in 23 years.

Now, that is not just due to Tartan Army footsoldiers failing to launch into a lusty rendition of Do-Re-Mi when their heroes are facing periods of sustained pressure. Still, it would undoubtedly help them if they received a little bit more encouragement during those difficult spells in matches when they are not on the front foot.

Your correspondent was invited onto the excellent The Hampden Roar podcast this week to discuss the concerns which many members of the Scotland support have about the increasingly subdued atmosphere at their home matches. It proved to be a fascinating exchange of views. Numerous theories were put forward and several potential solutions suggested.

But it was slightly worrying when host Andy Bargh – who spoke to numerous players when he was writing both A Nation Again: The Inside Story of Scotland's Journey to the European Championship and A Long Time Coming: The Inside Story of Scotland's Return to the World Cup – revealed that “the boys are talking about it amongst themselves”.

Captain Robertson was asked directly about how quiet Hampden was in the aftermath of the Slovenia reverse and responded by saying it was down to him and his team-mates to perform well and give punters something to shout about.

Would the Spurs full-back and his compatriots, though, not be helped by having some sort of Tartan Army ultras group, a youthful, energetic, relentless, vibrant, colourful hardcore of fans, banging drums, holding up banners and singing songs from kick-off to the final whistle? They clearly, privately at least, think so.

A Scotland fan at Hampden last month (Image: Steve Welsh)

The SFA, following feedback from various supporters’ clubs, tried to shake things up at the start of the year. They announced their intention to create a 1,000-strong singing section and invited people to apply for seats in Section B5 of the North Stand.

It was a laudable and badly needed endeavour. But it did, as anyone who was at the Japan, Curacao, Switzerland and Slovenia games will tell you, not have the desired impact. The situation will be reviewed after the forthcoming fixtures, as was always going to be the case, and appropriate changes made going forward.  

It is not, though, the responsibility of a governing body to set up an ultras group. To do so would be a completely artificial exercise which would be destined to fail. No, the blazers should simply accommodate the young team once they themselves have mobilised.

Scotland fans should work with both each other and the SFA to bring the thunder back to Hampden before the Euro 2028 campaign gets underway in March and help to give the national team the vital edge which they have so often been missing when they have found themselves up against it.

Qualification for a third successive tournament may depend on it.