Emotional Graeme Souness admits he will roar against Ukraine when they face Scotland on Wednesday night.

The former national team captain is putting aside his loyalty to football by helping war-torn Ukrainians qualify for the World Cup.

Rangers legend Souness also wants them to go on and lift the trophy in Qatar as he feels it will send a message from football that what is happening is unacceptable.

The game was originally due to be played in March but was postponed due to the Russian invasion and will now take place in Hampden this week.

The winners will then book a playoff final on Sunday against Wales in Cardiff.

But he admits he feels sorry for the Scottish players who have to play the game because he doesn’t know how he would react if he was in that position.

He told The Times: “When I thought about this game in my quieter moments, I thought, ‘How could I handle this?’

“Part of me keeps thinking about how it’s just a football game, and do I really want to beat them? Whether it’s sports, politics, the arts, whatever it is, we need to send a message to Russia that what they are doing is not acceptable.

“I’m going to find myself in a really difficult situation. I will be emotional. I don’t just want Ukraine to qualify, I want them to go there (Qatar) and win.

“How far do you have to put your head in the sand not to realize the situation the world is in right now? Will it be when someone presses the button on a nuke?

“I wouldn’t want to be one of the Scottish players playing that night. I don’t know where my emotions would be. My emotions when I think about it deeply are that it is more important than football to send a message that Russia’s behavior is unacceptable.

“The world needs to come together and tell them that – you can hear the emotion in my voice. That’s my overriding feeling about the situation.

“I’m doing it for TV and I don’t know how I’m going to handle it. I know the majority of our fans who go there will feel the same way – you’re in it. It’s going to be a really strange night.”