STEVE CLARKE has urged his Scotland players to earn the right to compete at Euro 2024 through group qualification - and not face another make-or-break play-off run.
The Hampden boss discovered the national team opposition in Euro 2024 qualifying yesterday with Nations League finalists Spain headlining Group A.
Scotland were in Pot 2 for the draw but were dealt a tricky section with Norway, Georgia, and Cyprus alongside three-time winners Spain in the five-team group.
Clarke was in Frankfurt to observe the UEFA draw and admitted he's targeting direct qualification as group winners or runners-up after experiencing both the elation and perils of qualification play-offs.
Scotland made the Euro 2020 finals through the play-offs with a penalty shoot-out win over Serbia but failed to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar after being knocked out in the play-off stage to Ukraine.
“We want to qualify as of right. We don’t want to rely on the play-offs,” Clarke told the PA news agency.
“We qualified for the last Euros via the play-offs but we missed out on the World Cup through the play-offs. So we know they’re fraught with danger.
"We’d much rather be in a position where we qualify as of right from the group, so that’s what we’re concentrating on.
“We said when we qualified for Euro 2020 that we didn’t want it to be a one-off.
“This group of players have shown that they are good enough and have shown that they’re consistent enough to qualify, so hopefully we can qualify for another major tournament which will be a great thing for the Scottish public.”
Top seeds Spain appear instant favourites for the group, but Norway, Georgia and the potential banana-skin of World 110 ranked Cyprus present stern opposition for the runners-up spot and direct progress to the finals in 2024.
Clarke, however, is unfazed by the prospect of facing the threat of Manchester City record-breaker Erling Braut Haaland for Norway in the group stage.
The Scotland boss added: “Norway have got a lot of good players, Haaland is the one who’s grabbing the headlines with his goals for Man City at the moment.
“But it’s a long way away, we’re showing that we’re improving and if you want to qualify for a tournament you’re going to have to play against big players and big teams and get the right results, and that’s what we aim to do.”
