I’m so glad we’re not taking a rain Czech
Armstrong won’t take anything for granted as he urges Scotland to make most of makeshift opposition
STUART ARMSTRONG knows Scotland’s players can’t take anything for granted in tonight’s Nations League clash - even though their opponents have had to Czech in a whole new team.
The midfielder admitted preparations for tonight’s clash in Olomouc have fallen into the unusual category, with the Czech Republic initially calling the game off after a Covid-19 outbreak hit their camp before their win over Slovakia. FIFA put their foot down and made it clear they had to fulfil the fixture and it has meant the Czech FA has had to put together a new squad, with just a handful of those players having any previous international experience. Armstrong said: “With any game, there is always pressure and expectation and we have grown accustomed to that over the years. This is no exception although we are in a very unusual circumstance with the Czech team having to change most, if not all, of their squad. “I don’t think anyone has seen anything like that before. We will prepare the game to the best of our capabilities and whatever team they field I’m sure it will be a good one, if maybe slightly less experienced. “But we’ll be focusing on what we want to do. Ultimately, that’s our aim. We will be looking to go into the game with optimism and looking to take as much away from it as possible.” The first the Scotland star knew about the uncertainty over the Czech Republic trip was after their opening 1-1 home draw with Israel. He would be more than happy to just take the three points but that quickly became clear that was never going to be the case. Armstrong, with a wry smile, said “I think we all would be happy to accept a walkover! “Joking aside, three points is three points, you take it anyway you can but, speaking for myself, you want to play. You want to do it on the pitch and represent your country. “We heard the news on the way back from the game. There was a bit of talk amongst the boys. It was a bit confusing at first but it was cleared up on Saturday morning and we carried on as normal.” Armstrong knows that the world is on edge with the pandemic but is confident the SFA have put the right protocols in place to get them in and out safely. He said: “Yes, it’s not a great situation. It is another incident of this pandemic that has frustrated individuals. Nothing can be taken for granted and you just need to take situations as you find them. “It would have been more surprising if the game hadn’t gone ahead. We were all preparing for the game, especially with the ruling around the situation. The expectation was the game would go ahead, that’s how we have approached it.
“Clubs have been in contact to ask about the situation but things were cleared up pretty quickly. The testing here and protocols round the camp have been top level, as it has been with clubs going back in pre-season and clubs have started already. It’s been a continuation of that very good testing environment.”
Now, all Steve Clarke and his squad have to worry about is what they do on the pitch.
Clarke went with a three-man defence and that is something that is expected to be rolled out again tonight – although Armstrong knows they have to show a lot more going forward.
He said: “Yeah, when you come to international football, you’ve got a lot of individual players moulded together and when there’s a new shape sometimes it takes time to become accustomedcustomed to that style of play.
“For parts of the Israelel game we moved the ball quite well.l. You would like to see some more chancesnces created but stability-wise we werere good. We controlled parts of the game. ame.
“Just building on that performance, creating a few more chances,ances, we’re certainly heading in the rightght direction.”
The main positive from Fridayriday evening was the debut of Lyndonn Dykes and Armstrong knows he willill offer the Scotland team a much-needed presence on the frontline.
The former Celtic midfielder elder said: “I was very impressed with him and his performance. He’s a great target man.
“He held the ball in well, ell, pinned defenders. I don’t n’t think centre-backs like playing ng against him because he has as that physical presence – and nd he links up the play well. l. Getting people around him is a key for us, going forward.” .”
Scotland’s goal against st Israel on Friday came from m the penalty spot from Celtic’s c’s Ryan Christie. Armstrong ong knows his former team-mate has really come to the fore for club and country over the past seasonon or so.
He said: “I’ve known Ryann a long time, having been at Celtic togetherther and you can see his quality every dayay in training.
“Especially in these lastst couple of seasons, he’s taken it to another level with Celtic and has been fantastic. antastic.
“Even in the Europeann games, he excels. He has so much energy. His technique is spot-on, especiallyecially his first touch at speed – it’s incredible.” credible.”