After a 48-7 hammering by England and a 54-12 thrashing by France, Wales sit 11th in the world rankings and have lost 13 straight Six Nations matches.
Four changes have been made, but the head coach is focused on progress rather than promises.
“For me, the expectation is being better than we were last week,” he said.
“I’m not going to change on what that is until I feel we’re a team going into it and we’re exactly where we want to be.
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“Ultimately, we believe if we are better than last week then we will be closer, we’ll be much more competitive and we’ll be closer to it.
“We understand how good Scotland are as well, they beat England really comfortably, should have beaten the All Blacks.
“Just because we’ve done that before [Wales have won 18 of the past 24 matches between the two teams, although Scotland have won the past three], it doesn’t mean … we can do it now.
“We’ve only won two games in 25 or 26, so it’s not going to come with a click of a finger, but we believe in this group and we believe that we’ll be better than we were last week, which I think will get us closer to where we want to be.”
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Tandy is clearly anxious to make no brash predictions about a Welsh revival at this stage of his stint in charge.
They suggest that anything less painful than the eight tries conceded in the defeat to France - perhaps conceding four or five tries in a 20-point defeat - may be framed after the match as another step forward.
The backdrop is bleak. Wales have lost 23 of their last 25 Tests and 10 straight Six Nations matches at the Principality Stadium.
Their last home win in the tournament came against Scotland in 2022 — when Tandy was in the visitors’ coaching team as defence coach.
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He remembers vividly Scotland’s dramatic 27-26 win in Cardiff two years ago after leading 27-0.
"That game, when we were at 27-0. I remember being in that Scotland dressing room, and then once something clicked into gear, then everything changed," said Tandy.
"The crowd changed - everything changed.
"Scotland, at the time, had two or three yellow cards in that game, which shifted the momentum of the game completely."
This time, he hopes momentum swings the other way.
Adam Beard, a British & Irish Lions lock, has been dropped after a costly mistake against France gifted a try before half-time.
Tandy’s visible frustration in the coaches’ box told its own story, though he insists the decision was broader than one error.
Ben Carter starts, with Freddie Thomas taking a bench role.
“He is a seasoned international, he’s done some amazing things for Wales and you are never going to drop him on just that one moment,” Tandy said of Beard.
“We feel Ben is going to add value to the game and also it’s a six-day turnaround.”
That tight turnaround — Wales played Sunday, Scotland on Saturday — has shaped selection.
Fly-half Dan Edwards, who started the past seven Tests, also drops out.
Sam Costelow returns, with Jarrod Evans again among the replacements.
“Costy has been doing really well and, looking at his games [for Scarlets] against Northampton, Ulster and Bristol, he has responded to not being involved in the autumn,” Tandy said.
“Dan has done really well, he is a young man who has played a lot of rugby, and with a six-day turnaround it’s a good opportunity to freshen the team up a little bit.”
There is a debut too. Wing Ellis Mee misses out despite impressing against France, with Leicester’s Gabriel Hamer-Webb handed his first cap.
“We feel Gabe adds something to our group for this week with the way that we want to play against Scotland,” Tandy said.
Taine Plumtree replaces Olly Cracknell in the back row, Aaron Wainwright shifts to No 8 and James Botham provides cover from the bench.
Blair Murray is the outside-back replacement.
“The game is going to be really quick against Scotland,” Tandy said.
“They like to hold the ball for a long period of time and Taine just adds a little bit more mobility.”
