As Scotland prepares to take to the pitch for the Eurohockey Championship this weekend, Amy Costello is well aware of her side’s underdog status.
Scotland has been grouped with England, Spain and Belgium in the tournament, all of whom are ranked inside the world’s top eight.
With Scotland down at 15th in the world they are, on paper at least, in for a tough week.
But while Costello is under no illusions about the size of the task ahead of her and her compatriots, she’s also quietly optimistic that Scotland can potentially spring an upset or two.
“Of course, these will all be tough matches, but we're not shying away from the fact that we want to get results,” the defender says.
“We'll be set up by the coaches in a way that will give us the best chance to do well so it's just a question of can whether us, the players, can put in a good performance on the day, which is what we'll need to do if we want to get results against teams of this quality.
“On paper, we're clearly the underdogs, but we've beaten England before, we've beaten Spain before and although we've not played Belgium for quite a few years, we want to do well against them. So we know we're capable of beating these teams, and we're not going to shy away from the fact that we want to win.”
Costello will, as she has for some time, play a vital role in the Scotland team over the coming week.
As joint-captain and one of the most experienced players in the squad, the 27-year-old from Edinburgh has a significant degree of responsibility not only in terms of performing well over the coming days, but also in helping her younger teammates rise to the occasion when they face some of the best teams in the world.
It’s a challenge, however, that Costello relishes.
"I really enjoyed having a leadership role and I don't feel it as a pressure. Instead, I feel like I'm trying to pull the girls along, especially the younger girls, and share my experience,” says the Scot, who won her 150th combined cap earlier this year.
“I've been in their shoes before, going to an A Division Euros, which is one of the toughest tests in the hockey calendar. I know how they feel and the nerves they’ll be experiencing but actually, we're going in with really no pressure, because ranking-wise, we shouldn't be winning these games. So it's just about sharing that insight to the younger girls in the squad, because they will probably be going in thinking ‘oh my goodness, what is this going to be like?’ And if you feel like that, you're not going to play at your best.
“I just want to help them realise that they need to just play like it's another hockey game, and that's how everyone plays their best hockey.”
The past year of Costello’s life has been particularly memorable.
Last summer, she made her Olympic debut having been included in GB’s squad for Paris 2024 and then almost immediately on her return from Olympic duty, she relocated to the Netherlands to play for Dutch side, HGC. Given the Dutch women’s national side is the best in the world, it’s little surprise that Costello feels she gained a massive amount by playing in the Dutch league both as a person and as a hockey player.
“I absolutely loved my season in Holland. From the people to the lifestyle to, obviously, the hockey, it was great and is one of the best things I've ever done,” she says.
“The intensity in the Dutch league and the all-out attacking style they play is quite different from what I'd been used to and it’s given me another dimension to my game.
“Going to Holland and playing against the Dutch players was about me challenging myself in match-play in a different setting to what I’d been used to and it really worked in terms of improving as a player.”
Scotland begin their Eurohockey Championship tomorrow, against England. With Costello having been teammates with the majority of the English squad during her time in the GB set-up, she’s very familiar with many of the players, and their style of play.
And while facing some of her closest friends is, she admits, a somewhat unusual prospect, she’s confident she’ll be able to separate the two and help the Scots make what would be a perfect start to their Eurohockey campaign if they can grab a positive result against the Auld Enemy.
“I'm looking forward to playing England and typically, when we play them, it's tighter than on paper it should be,” the Scot says.
“Having been so involved in the GB set-up alongside basically the whole England team that will be playing this week does make it tricky but we just need to separate on the pitch and off the pitch because, at the end of the day, we all want to win the game.”
