Steve Clarke is still hurting from missing out on a major international tournament as a player.
It meant the new Scotland head coach jumped at the chance to lead his country back to a finals for the first time since 1998.
Clarke won five caps in the 1987-88 season, not long after moving from St Mirren to Chelsea. Scotland were unbeaten in those five matches but it took him six years to play again for his country.
That 3-1 friendly defeat by Holland proved his final appearance and Clarke still rankles at being overlooked by Andy Roxburgh and Craig Brown.
The 55-year-old will remind any players whose commitment is wavering that they have a chance to achieve something most can only dream of.
"That's down to my skills as a manager, I have to sell the idea, I have to sell the way we are going to play, the way we are going to be in camp," said Clarke, who was appointed on Monday after leading Kilmarnock into Europe.
"But I only managed to get six caps and, I tell you now, it still hurts me that I only got six, because I believe my career deserved more.
"I was very close to the squad that went to Italia 1990. I went on a pre-tournament trip to Genoa. I think there were 26 players went and I was one of the ones that got cut for the final selection. That still hurts me.
"So a burning ambition of mine is to take Scotland to a major international tournament.
"I spoke with Andy Robertson this morning just to touch base and if everybody is as enthusiastic and determined as Andy is, then we'll have a great chance.
"I was saying to Andy about qualifying, it should be the pinnacle of your career as a professional, to represent your country at a major tournament, and that's the carrot in front of this group of players."
Clarke's predecessor, Alex McLeish, suffered from a host of call-offs in recent games. Allan McGregor and James McArthur quit the international scene while the likes of Matt Ritchie, Robert Snodgrass and Steven Fletcher made themselves temporarily unavailable for fitness reasons.
