Slovenia skipper Bostjan Cesar aims to rule the roost

Slovenia skipper Bostjan Cesar '¨says his side will aim to hush a '¨half-empty Hampden when they face Scotland tonight.

Slovenian captain Bostjan Cesar hopes Scotland's fans will stay away

The fed-up Tartan Army have responded to their team’s nightmare World Cup campaign by buying fewer than 30,000 tickets so far for the Scots’ make-or-break qualifier.

Chievo defender Cesar sampled the Hampden roar when his side visited Glasgow back in 2004 and was blown away by the experience.

And Cesar, pictured, reckons it will be a significant boost for his side – who have Fiorentina ace Josip Ilicic fit after an ankle injury scare – if the famously noisy home support stay at home.

He said: “I played here in 2004 and remember the atmosphere was amazing, really good.

“If the stadium will not be full and the atmosphere not at full capacity then that could be a plus for us. But we still have to do our thing on the pitch.”

Gordon Strachan’s side sit second bottom of Group F having claimed just four points from their opening four games.

They have shipped an average of two goals per game and Cesar believes Slovenia will be able to exploit weaknesses at the back.

He said of Scotland: “They have conceded a lot of goals but they have a high level to their game.

“They played well until they conceded the first goal against both Slovakia and England, but we know it is hard to play once you go behind.

“They are aggressive all over the pitch and have good players but maybe their weakness is at the set-pieces because they leave too much room for the opponents to score at that time.”

However, the visitors’ head coach Srecko Katanec reckons Strachan’s men are more dangerous than the table suggests.

“When Scotland play at home they are always the favourite,” Katanec said. “They are in the situation where they have to win to stay in the competition for the second place.

“We want to win as well because one point for a draw is not worth very much. We know it will be hard. We expect an aggressive opponent, a determined opponent.

“I don’t think they are as bad as the results in the previous matches suggest. We have analysed them a lot. They conceded a lot of their goals unluckily, so the past results won’t make us jump to any conclusions about the Scottish team.”