Steve Clarke insists he’ll never compromise his beliefs as Scotland boss vows to silence the growing army of critics calling for his head.
A weekend horror-show against Ireland once again saw formation, team selection and tactics slaughtered on social media as well as the Tartan Army who booed his team off the pitch after a 3-0 defeat which could have been heavier as his back three went into malfunction mode once again.
But as Clarke attempts to reclaim some Nations League ground against Armenia tonight, he sounded out a message to his detractors that he’ll continue to have courage in his convictions, regardless of outside opinion.
Anything less than a win at the Republican Stadium will see the volume increased with calls for the former Kilmarnock boss to be sacked but he bristled at a suggestion that he should fear for his position if this evening doesn’t go to plan.
He said: “Ifs and buts. Other people can speak about what they want to speak about, I have to stay true to myself and stay true to what these players believe in as well. People can write and say what they want. There is nothing I can do to control that, the most important thing is what we do next.”
Clarke also insisted he has always turned a deaf ear to outside noise and critical media comments where he prefers to pull the blinkers down when he’s the topic of debate on both sides of the coin.
He said: “I don’t know what goes on in that world. I have to skim over the media to make sure I know that’s going on but I don’t read any articles. You will go away and write something about this interview … I won’t read it. It’s how I’ve always dealt with things. It’s just the way I am. It’s how I deal with the whole situation, good or bad.”
A host of changes are set to be made by Clarke for the Armenian test as he revealed there are ‘significant’ injury concerns within his squad but opted to keep the names of his stricken stars to himself.
He said: “There will be some rotation. We have some significant doubts, that’s why I am a bit late here.
“We will assess before we travel but we have significant injuries that we have to deal with. No names.
“There’ll be some changes. I’ve one or two significant injury doubts that will play a part. I’m not going to say any more than that. I’m also conscious I’ve got to freshen the team a little bit for the fourth game at the end of a long campaign for a lot of the players. So there’ll be some changes.
“I’m not going to get into who might and who might not play because I don’t want to give the Armenia coach any information about tactics. I always try to keep those things close to my chest.”
Clarke is on record as starting tonight is a ‘must win’ affair and he’s adamant Scotland can still head into summer with a positive feeling but conceded failure to claim three points would make topping their Nations League group a huge ask.
He said: “It would be very difficult then. If we didn’t win, it would be much more difficult. But I expect to win.
“After Saturday I get the feeling that a lot of them want to finish the season on a good note.
“The most important thing for me is that we want to win this game because we want to go into the September camp with a realistic chance of topping this group. That has to be our aim.”
