Steve Clarke says his Scotland stars have no problem with the heightened security that has seen armoured military vehicles based outside their team hotel in Turkey and armed guards following their movements.
The country is on high alert after six people were killed and a further 81 injured in a bomb blast in Istanbul on Sunday, which is being blamed on Kurdish militants. Diyarbakir, which will host this evening’s friendly, is a Kurdish stronghold close to the Syrian border. Clarke ’s players were shadowed by military personnel and security guards as they stretched their legs in the city on Tuesday.
The manager said: “First and foremost, your sympathies are with the people and families of all the innocent people who were affected in Istanbul. That would then naturally raise the security level around everybody there. The Scottish national team coming into Turkey, you would expect that extra level of protection – it’s there for a reason and we respect the reason.
“The fact we’re here for the first game in the city’s history is a big occasion. Hopefully the match will do the occasion justice.
“I’m not really a political person so I haven’t really looked at the politics of the area we’re in. It’s obviously a big thing for the city that we’ve come here and it’s the first time the Turkish national team have come here.
“We want it to be a worthwhile exercise, so hopefully it is vibrant and noisy because you want to prepare the players for what they’re going to get when they go to Cyprus, Norway, Spain and Georgia. If we can come here and perform against a noisy background, it’s always going to help you in the future.”
Clarke admits he faces huge decisions in almost every area of his side as he balances experimentation with continuity in the final run-out of 2022. One of those comes in goal, where Craig Gordon is looking to win his 74th cap while Motherwell 's Liam Kelly and Robby McCrorie seek their first.
Clarke said: “A friendly match serves a purpose as long as you choose the right opponents and you get what you want to get from the game. There are decisions to make on the pitch, there can be no doubt about that. But I’ve shown I’m not afraid to put anybody in.
“If Liam’s debut is here or if it’s in one of the qualifiers next year, I’m not afraid to put players in with no experience. The fact you get some minutes in a friendly match doesn’t really prepare you for going into a competitive fixture.”
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