Steve Clarke has blasted back at his critics – and insisted they should know better than to point the finger of blame at him for Scotland ’s World Cup near miss.
Clarke spoke up to mount a staunch defence of his team and his tactics despite coming under heavy fire following last week’s play-off defeat at the hands of Ukraine.
Former national boss Craig Levein led the attack, insisting Clarke had got his team selection and system wrong - then accused him of being too slow to make vital changes as the chance to make history got away from his players.
And former Scotland and Aberdeen defender Willie Miller joined in the on-air filleting of Clarke during a live broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland by insisting the manager had got his starting XI ‘totally wrong’.
But Clarke, who is preparing his team to get back on track with a Nations League opener at home to Armenia, hit back by insisting two former professionals should ‘know what it’s all about’.
He said: “It’s part of the job. They can have their opinion. They have been there so they should know what it’s about.
“I’m not getting dragged into it. I don’t like to comment on pundits because they are paid to give an opinion.
“I don’t read it, I don’t listen to it. As I said, I have my own way of dealing with disappointment and how to move on and I’m really good at it.”
Asked what coping skills he has developed during his time in charge he responded: “I go to my wee happy place. I’m not telling you where it is! But it’s in my head.”
Levein and Miller, though, were both highly critical of Clarke’s decision to stick to his 3-5-2 formation despite losing Kieran Tierney to injury weeks in advance of last week’s showdown.
But Clarke hit back: “I am not sure what the clamour for change is, maybe because some people like the sound of their own voice and like to sound clever.
“Playing with a back three has worked out quite well for us with or without Kieran. Even in matches without Kieran it has worked OK.
“Maybe the reason I went to a back to a three was to make us more solid initially as much as it was about getting Kieran and Andy Robertson in the same team. The back three has worked all right for us.
“It was about finding a way that could give us a platform in games and allow us to express our talent. I think if you look through the qualifying campaign, it was a good qualifying campaign.
“Seven wins, two draws and one defeat. It wasn’t a bad qualifying campaign. We have to remember that. We cannot just say let’s change it. Why? We don’t we change it now.”
Clarke also blasted UEFA for the decision to force Ukraine into a quickfire play-off final in Cardiff, less than four days after their emotionally exhausting 3-1 win at Hampden.
He said: “I felt sorry for Ukraine because they were asked to empty themselves at Hampden and then three days later they had to go again. That was a tough task. I’m not so sure UEFA’s fair play or sporting integrity was in play for that one. It was tough for Ukraine and I felt for them. But congratulations to Wales, I’m not taking anything away from the Welsh.”
And he admits his own players are now facing a gruelling schedule of three games in six days.
He said: “That’s probably a totally different subject and argument that we’re probably better to do when we’re not going into such a run of matches.
“I don’t like to talk about it going into such a run of matches because maybe the players read it and think they are tired.
“They are not tired. We have to make sure they are not tired, and certainly remind them.
“Most of them are pretty keen to get started again and get back on the pitch.”
