STEVE Clarke’s lugubrious demeanour is, not least after joyous victories like the one over Spain at Hampden on Tuesday night, the source of much mirth to members of the Tartan Army.
But the Ayrshireman’s ability to keep his cool when all around him are losing their heads proved crucial during the 2-0 triumph in the Group A match against the former World Cup and European Championship winners.
There was a deafening roar from the home supporters when Swiss referee Sandro Scharer, in what proved to be his final act before he bowed out of proceedings injured, blew the half-time whistle in midweek.
The Scotland fans were, with their heroes leading the top seeds in the section 1-0 thanks to an early Scott McTominay strike, on cloud nine after the opening 45 minutes and excited about a historic result being in the offing.
Clarke stood by himself in his technical area, scanned the stands around him and soaked in the electric atmosphere. But in his head he was well aware that, despite the scoreline, not all was well.
He had been concerned by the chances which Luis de la Fuentes’ players had created in the final third and conscious that certain things had to be addressed by himself and his coaching staff if all three points were to be secured.
As he looked back on the 2-0 triumph yesterday, the 59-year-old recalled what had taken place in the dressing room deep in the bowels of Hampden before the second-half got underway and how it had helped Scotland to record a famous triumph.
“Normally you go in and everyone has got their bits to say,” he said. “I just let them chatter away amongst themselves for five minutes. Calm it down, take a breather.
“I touched on the mental aspect of the game. John Carver came in with a couple of tactical tweaks, tactical points. And Austin MacPhee put in a set play point.
“They caused us a couple of problems with an early set play when Rodri got across the front. You are just trying to fix the little things that are not quite right. But you are also trying to put across a message of calm.
“Be calm, start the second-half the way you started the first-half, make sure you don’t just camp on the edge of the 18 yard box because if you do that you will concede eventually. Thankfully, we got the second goal (McTominay netted his second in the 51st minute) which made it a reasonably comfortable second-half.”
Clarke has been lavished with praise by fans and the media for the improvement he has overseen since being appointed Scotland manager back in 2019.
Yet, the former Newcastle United, Chelsea and Liverpool assistant, who is far more fun in private than his public persona would suggest, has not done it all by himself.
He was at pains to point out that his assistants Carver, MacPhee and Steven Naismith as well as his goalkeeping coach Chris Woods have been pivotal to the revival which the national team has enjoyed during his four year tenure.
“Everyone contributes,” he said. “Austin MacPhee made a contribution, Steven Naismith is invaluable to me because he has got the ear of the dressing room. He is closer to them, he is a younger coach. All of the backroom staff play their part.
“When we were in that dressing room at the end of the game, everyone was together. It feels as though everyone wants to help. All the backroom staff want to help the players be as good as they can be.”
Scotland moved from their usual training base at Oriam on the outskirts of Edinburgh to Lesser Hampden, which has been redeveloped by Queen’s Park at a cost of £8m, for the opening Euro 2024 double header against Cyprus and Spain because they were unable to book enough rooms in the hotel at the national performance centre.
Clarke is grateful to the Scottish FA for creating an elite environment for Andy Robertson and his team mates, many of whom play their club football in the Premier League and are accustomed to the very best facilities, to prepare for the Group A matches in. He stressed that it enabled them to play at a high level.
“The SFA have gone out of their way and put us in a lovely hotel in Glasgow,” he said. “We have trained on a lovely pitch at Lesser Hampden. The players feel a little bit better, they just feel good about themselves.”
There were concerns about the lack of game time which Scott McTominay and Kieran Tierney have had at Manchester United and Arsenal during the 2022/23 campaign going into the opening Euro 2024 qualifiers.
But Clarke, who believes his man management has improved since he took charge of Scotland, assured both men that he had complete confidence in their ability to produce good displays in one-to-one sit-downs after his squad assembled last week. He was subsequently proved correct.
The former Kilmarnock manager is optimistic that the midfielder and left back will be in peak condition when they take on Norway away and Georgia at home in their next Group A double header in June.
He is, too, certain that midfielder Billy Gilmour, who has been exceptional for Scotland in the past but was not involved against either Cyprus or Spain due to the limited action he has seen at Brighton this term, will also come into contention for a start.
“As long as they working hard at their clubs, training professionally, doing the right things at the right time they will be fine,” he said.
“Maybe if Arsenal have to pick him (Tierney) at the weekend he might be a little bit more tired after two games in four days. He was tired last night, he came off last knockings of the game because he was starting to cramp up.
“Scott McTominay has actually had a lot of minutes at Man United. I was trying to explain that to Scott, that he is getting enough minutes to keep himself fit.
“He’s certainly been goo in this camp! Obviously, if you have got a midfield player arriving in the box like he did against Spain it’s good. Scott’s timing to get in the box was excellent. So long may it continue.
“There are one or two who are not getting enough minutes. But that will change in the future, everything changes.”
