Maxi Rodriguez's eighth-minute goal was enough to seal a deserved 1-0 victory at Hampden Park.

Liverpool midfielder Mascherano told Sky Sports 1: "I think it's a new era. It was very important to win. I think we played well in the first half. The second half, we needed to fight. We fought, so we are really happy. It's a good start; we are very proud.

"You see Maradona on the bench coaching, it's fantastic for us.

"It's just a friendly match but it's a good start."

He added: "It's difficult to compare different managers. I think when you start to play with a new manager, the new motivation is so different.

"I don't like to talk so much about the last manager or to compare. Now we need to think about the future.

"It's fantastic to start like this.

"If we can improve, we have to improve our level.

Man of the match Carlos Tevez added: "Being the first game, I think it was a good game for his first game in charge."

Scotland boss George Burley was pleased with the workout, praising his side for recovering after being completely outclassed early on.

He said: "It was a very good exercise. We knew we were going against top-class opposition, a load of quality.

"We were able to look at a few players. I thought the first 15 minutes, they overran us. They pushed us right back with their movement.

"But after that, I thought we held our own, had one or two opportunities and worked very hard."

The game had been billed as a good warm-up for March's World Cup qualifier in Holland.

Burley said: "Every game's different. Argentina's style is different from Holland but what they are is a top-class side, same as Holland."

Tonight's game was the third home match Scotland have failed to score in but Burley is confident the goals will come.

"If you make opportunities, I'm sure some of them will go in," he added.

"We've got some good players but international football's very difficult.

"It's not easy to score goals against top opposition but we've got some useful players."