The Blues have played down their finals chances so far. Their thumping of Port Adelaide on Saturday leaves them one game outside the eight.
"We’ve got a massive game with North Melbourne, who are fighting for a top four spot and are a quality opposition that won’t give us any chances this week," Scotland said.
“We’ve really got to win this week and then we can start to think [finals] after that, but it's something that hasn't come up at the moment."
Scotland, 28, joined Carlton in 2004, and conceded finals would be a "huge bonus" for the Blues after a lean decade.
"It's what we play football for, and we haven't played since I've been here," he said.
"It's been a long time and we need to get there, but at the moment, we've got to win this week to even consider it, and it's a big game."
The Blues will have to do it the hard way if they're to make a charge for the top eight, given they face two top eight sides in the Kangaroos and Hawthorn as well as the ninth-placed Brisbane Lions in coming weeks.
"Everyone's got a tough draw I suppose, but if we're good enough to win those games, we'll be good enough to play finals," Scotland said.
"It's only if we're good enough to win these games. You look at, is it tough, is it not, and everyone has a tough draw. We've just got to beat the teams we're up against, and North Melbourne this week.
"Our focus is just on them at the moment, and hopefully we can get over the line there."
Scotland said the Blues were keen to play Sunday's match on their own terms.
"We've got to focus on our game, we can't get too wrapped up in North Melbourne," he said.
"We're playing some good football, so if we get our processes right and stick to our game plans and play like we did on the weekend and how we have in patches this year, I think we'll be okay.
"I think it's more important for us to focus on our style and play, and not get too distracted by North Melbourne."
