Steve Clarke told his Scotland heroes they will be talked about for YEARS to come after they produced an epic Hampden night for the ages with a victory over former world champions Spain to storm to the top of Euro 2024 qualifying Group A.
Scott McTominay bagged a double against the shellshocked Spaniards and it was Scotland’s first victory over a nation regarded as one of world football’s superpowers for almost 40 years - the last coming in 1984 when Kenny Dalglish famously scored in a Euro qualifier.
Clarke was at that game with Mo Johnston also bagging a double and the national team boss admitted he fired his stars up by telling them a victory would see them talked about in the same way as legendary Dalglish and Co. The Ayrshireman said: “That’s what we’re trying to build. I spoke about it before the game, going back to when Kenny scored the third goal in ‘84.
"I was saying to the players, ‘look, that’s what it means to the country.’ When you produce a result against one of the top teams in Europe then people speak about you for years to come.”
When asked where this result ranks in his career, Clarke replied: “I’ve not had time to think about it or digest it at the moment. I’m trying to get my voice back to be honest. I’m looking forward to something cold going down my throat - water! Obviously water!
“When you look at the stats, you know you’ve been outpassed. But when you look at the actual shots on goal and shots on target, it’s almost equal. It means that we utilised the ball when we had it, which is pleasing. There was good effort. Right from the start, we kept the intensity in the game, even when Spain had the ball. We kept working them, we kept stepping the backline up, which is really important.
“There was a spell in the first half when we got camped on the edge of the six yard box and that’s when they hit the bar and Angus (Gunn) had to make a save. Once we got them back out of the box, we looked a little more comfortable in the second half.”
