Former Scotland captain Colin Hendry is backing current gaffer Steve Clarke to motivate his players to the fullest at Euro 2024 as they bid to make it past the group stage of a major tournament for the first time in their history.
After breaking a 23-year absence from the big summer stage by appearing at the one-year delayed Euro 2020 and following it up with qualification for the 2022 World Cup and this year’s Euros, hopes are now high that they can reach the knockout stages for the first time in 12 attempts.
Hendry was part of Colin Brown’s side that went to both the Euro 96 and the 1998 World Cup, and sees similarities between the late former Scotland boss and his modern-day counterpart.
Colin Hendry: "Scotland players respect Steve and that’s so important"
Scotland take on hosts Germany in the tournament’s opening game on Friday 16th June before later facing slightly kinder fixtures against Switzerland and Hungary, and Hendry believes Clarke will have them going into all three games full of confidence.
Speaking to FourFourTwo in our Euros preview edition – available to buy now – Hendry said: “The players respect Steve and that’s so important – it doesn’t happen by accident.
“They look like a team. Off the pitch, they’re having a laugh together, and they look like a tight group.
“Craig listened to what everyone had to say but he would canvass opinion from some of the older heads, like me, John Collins and Gary McAllister. Steve seems to have the same rapport with boys like Andy Robertson and John McGinn – and the same inspirational qualities.
“At Craig’s funeral, Darren Jackson said to me that Craig made you feel like you could win every game; that you were on top of the world. Steve will have them feeling like that before they walk out against Germany.”
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