Steve Clarke has, with John Carver, Austin MacPhee, Steven Naismith and Chris Woods all in his Scotland backroom team, not exactly been lacking in help, advice or support this week as he has prepared for the start of the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.
When the Group A opener against Cyprus kicks off at a packed Hampden Park tomorrow afternoon, every player in a dark blue jersey will know exactly what is expected of them, as well as what to expect from their opponents, after being well drilled by the quintet.
But national team assistant manager Carver knows that Clarke has another individual at his disposal who can make key decisions, direct those around about him and lead by example in general on the field when the match gets underway – Celtic captain and central midfielder Callum McGregor.
“He is what I would call a coach on the pitch,” he said of McGregor, who will win his 50th cap for his country this weekend barring injury or illness. “He is a controller. He controls the games and dominates the games. He does the same for Celtic.
“When you have a conversation with him, he doesn’t talk like a footballer. He talks like a coach, with all due respect. He understands the game and keeps it simple. But he’s a huge influence on this team. I have nothing but admiration for him. I enjoy watching him play and I’m delighted he’s getting to 50. And, hopefully, I’ll still be here when he gets his 100th cap.”
Finishing in the top two in a section that includes Spain, Norway, Georgia and Cyprus and making it through to the finals in Germany next summer automatically is, despite their second seeding, by no means guaranteed for the national team.
Carver is optimistic going into the opening Euro 2024 qualifier that this Scotland squad has, with Grant Hanley, Kieran Tierney, Andy Robertson, John McGinn, Kenny McLean, Stuart Armstrong, Scott McTominay, Ryan Christie and Lyndon Dykes all involved along with McGregor, the nous needed to negotiate their forthcoming fixtures and achieve their objective.
He has seen this group of players grow in confidence since being appointed back in 2020 and is certain they will be able to cope with the challenges they will face in their Group A fixtures. If anything, he can, with the likes of Aaron Hickey, Nathan Patterson and Lewis Ferguson all growing in stature, only envisage them developing even further.
“They have the belief and the experience of what has gone on in the past,” he said. “We have qualified once for the Euros, we’ve had a good Nations League, which is a fantastic competition. Now, with that belief and that experience, we are hoping it is going to put us in good stead for what is ahead.
“The squad that Steve had to pick from four years ago against Cyprus (in his first game in charge in 2019) is quite different to what we have now. I have seen the progression from when I have been here.
“That’s come from the amount of caps they’ve had and the situation of being in some highly pressurised situations. You think about the play-off with Israel and then the game in Serbia to qualify for the Euros. Then you have the last Nations League game.
“There was a lot of pressure on them and responsibility on them to try and get those results and they came through with flying colours. Nobody expected us to play away against Ukraine and come back with something and qualify and we did.
“They have gained that experience and that might have made them mentally tougher and stronger. I think we have a tough group of players who were mentally tough and strong anyway, but those experiences make you stronger.”
Carver continued: “Listen, don’t think we’ve made it because we ain’t made it. There is still a long way to go. But as long as we continue to make this progression and continue to go in the right direction. I think that’s very, very important.
“We look to improve all of the time. We are always looking for ways to improve it and find ways to take the group to the next level. It’s like Formula One isn’t it? They are always looking to improve that car. It’s the fine margins.
“I remember when people would talk and say: ‘Players aren’t that keen to come and play for Scotland’. I couldn’t get my head around that. Now, they can’t wait to be there. They’re desperate to be involved. That’s been an ongoing theme for a while.”
Clarke switched from a back three to a back four in the Nations League matches against Ukraine and the Republic of Ireland in September and it had a transformative effect on his side; they romped to two convincing victories and a draw to put their summer disappointments firmly behind them.
However, Liverpool left back Robertson was injured during that international window. He returned for the friendly against Turkey in Diyarbakir in November and his manager reverted to a 3-4-2-1 formation in order to get him and Arsenal defender Tierney into the same line-up. How will he approach the Cyprus and Spain games after that 2-1 defeat?
“You can mix it up,” he said. “Sometimes you have to change your system because of the circumstances. And we felt that we needed to play a certain way to get our best players on the pitch. I am a big believer in this. I think you have to get your best players on the pitch and, when we played with a back three, we did that.
“Obviously when Robbo wasn’t available we went to a back four. I’m sure it was because of the players we had available and how we wanted to play against the opposition. But it’s not always about finding a way to get those two players into the team all of the time. It’s also about making sure that, whatever system we put on the pitch, it’s the right system to get the right result.”
