Deep down he always hoped this game would go ahead.
But like many others, Steve Clarke assumed, in order for it to do so, first the situation on the ground in Ukraine would have to have been resolved.
That Oleksandr Petrakov and his players arrived in Glasgow on Monday afternoon, leaving the chaos and misery of war still raging behind them, has heightened all sorts of emotions as these two nations head towards Hampden for tonight’s World Cup eliminator.
That a list of news reporters from all around the globe – including CNN, Reuters and Al Jazeera have also applied for the press box tells its own story.
For Clarke and his players, this might be a once-in-a-generation shot at reaching the greatest stage of the lot. But for the visitors, an opportunity to show on the global stage the soul has not yet been ripped from their country, despite the murderous efforts of Vladimir Putin.
There are so many layers to this one football match the thought of it is enough to make the head spin and the heart cry all at once.
But somehow, Clarke has to keep his players focused on a prize that meant the world to them when this competition began, way back before the real world was turned on its axis by Putin’s war machine.
Yesterday morning was spent at Scotland’ s HQ on the outskirts of Edinburgh, as Clarke ran through final preparations for 90 minutes which could take him to Cardiff on Sunday and lead the country to within one last step of a first World Cup Finals in more than 24 years.
Asked how he can protect his players from the deafening background noise surrounding this encounter – Ukraine’s first competitive match since bloodshed and unimaginable carnage was unleashed upon its people – he took a second to compose his thoughts.
Then he said: “I said way back I hoped the game goes ahead in June because the situation might have improved.
“Unfortunately the situation hasn’t improved which is horrible for everybody that’s involved in the war. But we have to focus on the football match and I don’t think the Ukrainian team would want it any other way.
“Their coach Oleksandr has said they are ready for the game. We are ready for the game. It’s a game of football and hopefully the best team wins. And hopefully we’ll be the best team.
“But we always said we would be guided by the Ukrainians and how they felt about the situation, and what they wanted from the situation.
“What they want is their football team can come out of the country, prepare properly as they have the last four weeks, and be ready for a football match. They want to give their country a lift, which is absolutely 100 per cent understandable.
“But we want to go to the World Cup as well. It’s difficult to do but you have to separate the situation the Ukrainians find themselves in and the context of a football match. It’s a football match and that’s what we focus on.”
Yet anywhere else – other than inside the bubble Clarke has purposefully created for his players – the circumstances prove impossible to ignore. It’s as if there are some out there who are almost daring Clarke and his players to do the unthinkable and add a layer of sporting torment to the grief and misery being inflicted upon a population.
He said: “I understand everybody is going to have their own opinion. Everyone is going to feel different about the situation. I want to go to the World Cup in Qatar. I’ve been quite clear about that from the start. This is another step on the road.
“My staff are desperate to go. But the most important part for me is that our players want to represent their country in Qatar at a World Cup finals.
“I don’t always read a lot of media but I haven’t really felt that as a narrative, that we are at fault somehow. I’ve never felt that. Obviously we are not at fault in any way whatsoever.
“For us it is a game of football and for the Ukrainian boys it will be the same.
“They’ve had a few friendlies to get themselves in shape. They probably looked at their four-week training camp as pre-season for their Ukraine-based players to get them up to speed. They will be ready to go, don’t worry.”
Now for the nitty-gritty. Circumstances for Clarke’s camp have been less than ideal given his players have been arriving here in dribs and drabs since ending the season at their respective clubs. The last to arrive were Liverpool skipper Andy Robertson and Nottingham Forest stopper Scott McKenna, although from opposite ends of the emotional spectre.
Robertson is coming to terms with a painful end to the Premier League and Champions League campaigns while McKenna is floating on air after helping Forest back into England’s top flight.
It’s Clarke’s job to get both of them back on the ground – while ignoring criticism of his captain who was spotted enjoying a beer during Liverpool’s open top parade on Sunday afternoon.
He added: “I saw the clip and was pleased Andy was getting over his disappointment.
“It was the right thing to do, the right thing to celebrate with his team and his supporters on the back of a fantastic season for Liverpool.
"He has joined us in a great place and that’s all I am concerned about.”
