Cristiano Ronaldo may not start at Hampden on Tuesday but that certainly doesn’t mean Scotland can relax.

Nations League opponents Portugal have a number of first-class attacking alternatives and the all-time leading goalscorer in international men’s football will probably not want to fully get up in Glasgow.

Head coach Roberto Martinez withdrew Ronaldo after 63 minutes of Saturday’s 3-1 away win over Poland, but said after the game that the 39-year-old was “perfect” and the move was about managing minutes.

The veteran striker scored his 133rd Portugal goal in Warsaw and has scored in all three of their victories this season, including a late effort in Lisbon that broke Scots’ hearts.

“Age doesn’t matter, Ronaldo doesn’t play as a 39-year-old,” Martinez said as the visitors warmed up at St Mirren’s SMiSA Stadium in Paisley.

“We assess every player and how they feel. Cristiano has worked really well in this camp.”

“I think the difficulty of playing two away games is more about how do you prepare between games? How can you relax with the players?”

“I have no doubt that Cristiano can be involved in the second game after 60 minutes. I don’t know if he can start or finish the game, but he can definitely be involved as he showed in the last game.”

As the Portuguese team trained in Paisley, hundreds gathered outside hoping for an autograph, a photo or just a glimpse of Ronaldo, who has an incredible 906 career goals and wants a few more.

However, Martinez insists there are no distractions and says the superstar is “very easy to handle.”

“There are two aspects,” he added. “I am guiding Cristiano Ronaldo, who is trying to work hard to help the team win tomorrow.”

“When you arrive at a place like this, you get to know the iconic figure and the career of a unique player.”

“There is no other player with more than 200 appearances at international level, he is an example. The number of goals he scored, the trophies he won.”

“So for me it is very easy to manage the player who can help the team win tomorrow.”

“The rest is something we can all enjoy, because as an individual case we can all learn from being close to him.”