Blair: 10 years of international rugby

But Blair is adamant there is no additional pressure on the players or head coach Andy Robinson to end a dismal run of results.

Blair is Scotland's most capped scrum-half, with 78 appearances having made his debut in 2002, and believes the current squad is stronger than in recent times, despite entering the Aviva Stadium tonight seeking to end a run of five straight Test losses.

Scotland are also targeting just a third Six Nations win under Robinson, despite receiving praise from numerous quarters for their showings in defeat against England, Wales and France.

Frustration has been a commonly used word in the Scottish camp in recent weeks with victory thus far out of reach, but Blair insists confidence remains.

The 30-year-old said: "We have had a couple of losses on the trot, but there's belief within the squad and the ability of the individuals within the squad to make us feel confident.

"If everyone does play to the best of their ability for the team, then we've got a good chance against the Irish.

"But we need to perform the best we've performed so far in the Six Nations to get near that.

"Andy's been fantastic for Scotland, he's a great coach and he's prepared us as well as he can.

"There's no more pressure than you usually feel. Whenever you go into an international match there's pressure on you."

Scotland's fast-paced, expansive game is again expected to be in evidence tonight.

It is a style which has attracted admiring glances, but errors have been punished. Scotland are seeking to eliminate those errors.

Blair added: "It's painful at times. You look at things and you see how much good stuff we're doing that's negated by the bad stuff.

"When we do the positive stuff we've got to make sure we make the most of it.

"There's so much positive material we can look at to do that, it's just about going out and doing it."

If Scotland lose to Ireland, they would travel to Italy on March 17 seeking to avoid the wooden spoon. It is something Blair is not willing to contemplate.

"There's no point thinking about the following week," Blair added.

"We've got a massive task on our hands this week."

Teams:

Ireland: R Kearney (Leinster); T Bowe (Ospreys), K Earls (Munster), G D'Arcy (Leinster), A Trimble (Ulster); J Sexton (Leinster), E Reddan (Leinster); C Healy (Leinster), R Best (Ulster, capt), M Ross (Leinster), D O'Callaghan (Munster), D Ryan (Munster), S Ferris (Ulster), P O'Mahony (Munster), J Heaslip (Leinster)

Replacements: S Cronin (Leinster), T Court (Ulster), M McCarthy (Connacht), S Jennings (Leinster), T O'Leary (Munster), R O'Gara (Munster), F McFadden (Leinster)

Scotland: S Hogg (Glasgow Warriors); L Jones (Edinburgh), N De Luca (Edinburgh), G Morrison (Glasgow Warriors), S Lamont (Scarlets); G Laidlaw (Edinburgh), M Blair (Edinburgh); A Jacobsen (Edinburgh), R Ford (capt, Edinburgh), G Cross (Edinburgh), R Gray (Glasgow Warriors), J Hamilton (Gloucester), J Barclay (Glasgow Warriors), R Rennie (Edinburgh), D Denton (Edinburgh)

Replacements: S Lawson (Gloucester), E Murray (Newcastle), A Kellock (Glasgow Warriors), R Vernon (Sale Sharks), C Cusiter (Glasgow Warriors), R Jackson (Glasgow Warriors), M Evans (Castres)