THERE is no prospect of Steve Clarke suffering the same fate which befell his predecessor Andy Roxburgh in the wake of a heavy and humiliating defeat at the hands of Portugal in the Estadio da Luz if Scotland are on the receiving end of a mauling here in Lisbon this evening.
Roxburgh remained in his position for another five months after the national team had suffered their infamous 5-0 loss against Carlos Queiros’ side in a USA ’94 qualifier back in 1993.
Yet, when referee Sandor Puhl blew the final whistle that night his time was, with the country’s hopes of making it through their sixth consecutive World Cup finals in tatters, effectively over. He brought an end to his seven year reign following a 1-1 draw with Switzerland at Hampden later that year when he resigned.
Clarke will, having resurrected Scotland’s fortunes and led them through to both the Euro 2020 and Euro 2024 finals during his tenure, remain in situ as the country attempts to make it to Canada, Mexico and the United States in 2026 regardless of what transpires this evening.
Still, the former Newcastle United, Chelsea and Liverpool assistant is not, it is fair to say, exactly flavour of the month with the Tartan Army at the moment as a consequence of his men’s bitterly disappointing showing in Germany this summer,
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He could, then, certainly do with the visitors avoiding a drubbing in their second Group 1 outing. That would just fuel unrest in the stands further and complicate his life going forward. A draw or a victory would, meanwhile, go an awfully long way to healing the lingering pain of their early exit back in June. That, though, will be far easier said than done.
Andy Robertson and his team mates were much more like their old selves when they took on Poland in Glasgow on Thursday night. Yes, they ended up losing 3-2 after conceding a penalty in the seventh minute of injury-time. But not even their most vociferous critic could dispute they were comfortably the better side over the course of the 90 minutes.
However, taking on Portugal in the Estadio da Luz will, as Roxburgh will readily testify, be an entirely different proposition.
Roberto Martinez has, to name just a handful, Ruben Dias, Nuno Mendes, Joao Palhinha, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Joao Felix, Diogo Jota and a certain Cristiano Ronaldo at his disposal.
The former Belgium manager endured a difficult Euros as well – the 2016 champions were knocked out by France on penalties at the quarter-final stage – and he is determined to use the Nations League to restore damaged national pride. He is taking this fixture seriously and will not experiment with a new formation or blood uncapped players.
Neither the quality of the opposition or the hostility of the welcome they will receive when they walk out of the tunnel in the magnificent 65,000 capacity arena tonight, will trouble Andy Robertson, Billy Gilmour, Scott McTominay, Ryan Christie or John McGinn.
They are experienced campaigners for both club and country who have shown they are capable of performing in challenging circumstances on numerous occasions in the past.
That key quintet, who failed to scale the heights they did in Euro 2024 qualifying at the finals, looked back to something approaching their best in midweek. Robertson excelled in defence and attack, Gilmour and McTominay both scored in the second half and Christie and McGinn gave their opponents’ rearguard a torrid time.
They will, if fit and selected, need to be right at it from kick-off tonight to avert disaster. Those around them, Angus Gunn, Hanley, McLean, Ralston and Lyndon Dykes, will have to be far better. If John Souttar, Ryan Porteous, Josh Doig, Connor Barron, Ryan Gauld, Ben Doak, Lewis Morgan, Lawrence Shankland or Tommy Conway are handed game time they will have to excel to justify their involvement.
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Martinez, the former Motherwell midfielder who is a time-served international manager having spent six years with Belgium before joining Portugal last year, urged Scotland supporters to see the bigger picture when he spoke at his pre-match press conference yesterday.
“It’s important to measure what Steve has done,” he said. “Look at what he’s built. The feeling of having a national team qualifying for a Euros with an incredible record. That’s something to believe in for Scotland fans.
“International football isn’t easy and it’s not easy to reach tournaments. My experience tells me that it’s well worth it to carry on and believe in his project. You have to get beyond the emotional results from a big tournament where you’re playing against the best players in Europe.”
“It’s important for the history of football to achieve what Cristiano has,” he said. “But he will score important goals for us in the future. And his assists are also important for this team, just as much as the goals. You can never say it’s impossible for him to reach 1000 goals. With Cristiano, he’s capable of anything. It’s possible just because it’s him.”
The Scotland fans who have travelled to Lisbon in large numbers in the hope of seeing a famous triumph will not be best pleased if CR7, who is the grand old age of 39 now, runs riot and their heroes slump to an embarrassing reverse.
But they will be placated if their team give a decent account of themselves against the eighth placed side in the FIFA World Rankings and do enough to suggest that better times may lie ahead.
