Steven Reid: We need to learn from Parkhead and turn Aviva into a fortress

Remember Holland in 2001? The McAteer goal. The Lansdowne Roar.

Remember the noise the crowd made when the guy on the PA system said 'stewards, could you please go to your end of match positions'?

They went mental at that stage because they knew the game was nearly up for the Dutch, that they'd run out of time rather than get the two goals they needed to make the World Cup play-offs.

Did the crowd play a part in our victory? You bet your life they did. Those memories came back to me on Friday night when I heard Martin O'Neill talk about how our European Championship destiny will be determined by what happens at the Aviva next year.

So far we've been on one long road trip but we're on the home stretch now. Poland, Scotland, Germany and Georgia all have to come to Dublin in 2015 and we have to recreate the atmosphere we generated back in 2000 and 2001 for those World Cup qualifiers.

Since then, our results at home have been mediocre. Credible draws against Germany (in 2007), the Czechs, Italy and Russia have been mixed in with a 6-1 hammering by Germany, a 1-1 draw with Cyprus, as well as defeats to France (twice), Switzerland, Sweden and Russia.

In total, under six different managers, including Noel King as caretaker boss for the victory over Kazakhstan last year, we have played 30 competitive home games since the 2002 World Cup and won just 13 of those, drawing 11 and losing six.

Worse again, those 13 wins were almost entirely against lower-ranked teams, Gibraltar, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Cyprus (twice), Georgia (twice), the Faroes (twice), Albania, Wales and San Marino.

The 1-0 victory over Slovakia in 2007 under Steve Staunton stands out as a time when we went toe-to-toe against a higher ranked nation and came out on top. Otherwise the years post 2002 have been characterised by near misses.

We drew against Italy, Bulgaria, Austria, the Czechs, Russia and Israel despite taking the lead in all those games. We lost 2-1 to Sweden last year after going 1-0 up.

So O'Neill has a point. Our destiny will be decided by what happens at the Aviva next year. With Poland and Scotland undergoing a clear revival under Adam Nawalka and Gordon Strachan, and with Germany sure to recover from their World Cup hangover, we have little margin for error left in this tightest of groups.

But while Friday was a disappointment in terms of the outcome, there are still clear signs that this team has a fighting spirit about it, highlighted by the never-say-die attitude which lead to late strikes in Georgia and Germany and by the late charge we put in on Friday, when we hit the crossbar in injury time.

As a team, we can still improve. I've never been one to get overly obsessed with statistics from any game but the fact Scotland enjoyed 58 per cent of possession on Friday is something we need to address.

Key to our qualification hopes will be the fitness of James McCarthy. He was badly missed last Friday, as was Glenn Whelan. In that context, the additional absence of Wes Hoolahan was a major blow, even if it seems clear that no international manager appears willing to risk Wes in a really, important qualifier.

Trusted for the likes of Gibraltar at home, Hoolahan has yet to be offered the chance to do it in the biggest of fixtures. Perhaps he should be next March.

For me, he is a game-changer. So too is Aiden McGeady, who appeared to be affected by the level of abuse he was receiving on Friday night from the Glaswegian crowd.

The vitriol shocked me. And it must have been tough for him to take, given the fond memories he would have had from playing at Celtic Park, given how he almost certainly had family members in the crowd.

For me, it is just a bit lazy for people to criticise second generation Irish players. Gordon McQueen was at it last week, having a pop at Aiden and James McCarthy for the fact they represent Ireland rather than Scotland, neglecting to point out that Scotland have benefited from the same rules.

Similarly, Sky Sports produced a graphic, highlighting where each of the 27 members of Ireland's squad were born. Strangely, I've never seen them do something similar for the English cricket side.

Why does it matter where a person was born? I was brought up in London but am not English. My heritage was mixed, my dad's family coming from Jamaica, my mother's from Ballinasloe.

As a teenager breaking into the Millwall side, I let it be known that I felt Irish and wanted to represent Ireland, telling Richie Ryan and Richie Sadlier of my background and my desire.

I got my wish. Now, six years after winning my last cap for Ireland, I haven't changed my nationality. I'm an Irish fan.

When John O'Shea scored his equaliser against Germany, I cheered and roared so loudly that my two kids were woken from their sleep.

The next morning they quizzed me about my reaction to the goal. "How come you never cheer like that when any other football match is on, daddy?"

And it is because no other team means as much. As a parent, I talk to Harry and Isla about my family background. They see the framed Ireland shirts on the wall. They see how passionately I react when an Ireland game is on television.

And they see so much more than a graphic on a television screen can ever show.