It’s not pretty but players are beginning to reap rewards of blood, sweat and tears the gaffer demands
Clarke’s Killie blueprint is now getting results on biggest stage
HARD to beat. Even harder to watch.
If this is the uncomfortable trade-off for having a Scotland side which might be capable of actually qualifying for something, then we might just have to suck it up and get used to it.
Let’s be honest, life under Steve Clarke was never likely to offer the Tartan Ta Army a thrill a minute.
This, after all, is a man who takes his dour-faced pragmatism very seriously ser indeed.
Thrill a minute? When Lyndon Dykes Dy poached the only goal of last night’s nig win over Slovakia it was the first fir shot on target any of Clarke’s players pla had managed in more than three thr hours of football.
All A of which just goes to show this team’s tea direction of travel under the man ma who earned this job by making Kilmarnock Ki one of the most stubborn stu and awkward outfits in the Scottish top flight during his tenure at Rugby Park.
The hope was that he might be able to do something similar with the national team.
Now that he’s showing signs of getting there, there seems little to be gained from moaning about the mundane nature of his methods.
Yes, right now it does feel as if watching too much of Scotland might make your eyes bleed.
On this occasion it was the Slovaks who left Hampden with a sore face having battered their heads against Clarke’s impenetrable dark blue wall. Make no mistake, a lot of very hard yards have been done on the training ground at Edinburgh’s Oriam.
That’s where Clarke has been drilling these players into a solid, highly organised defensive unit.
It might not be pretty but a stretch of seven games without a single defeat tells the full story of its effectiveness and if these players can use it to bore Serbia into submission next month then they and Clarke will return from Belgrade to a heroes’ reception.
That’s the one that really matters but last night’s stop off in the Nations League will only help confidence to build as Clarke proves
to these players that the blood, sweat and tears he is demanding from them is actually giving them something in return.
You could see that sense of self belief spreading the longer last night’s contest went on and especially after Dykes had put them in front.
This competition has been almost unfailingly generous to Scotland.
Not only has it provided Clarke and his players with a safety net crack at qualification for next summer’s Euros but during this current, Covid- 19 riddled campaign it has also opened doors that would otherwise have remain slammed shut to us.
Not only did Clarke benefit when he travelled to the Czech Republic to take on a local select but, again last night, he found himself coming up against significantly weakened opposition as the Slovaks sent out what was effectively their second string side.
Nine changes had been made to the team which knocked out the Republic of Ireland on penalties last Thursday night.
Clarke, on the other hand, kept his own tinkering to a minimum.
The midfield was certainly freshened up by the inclusions of John Fleck, Kenny McLean and Ryan Fraser and, yes sir, Andy Considine boogied his way into a Scotland debut at the age of 33.
The Aberdeen man slotted into the left-hand side of Clarke’s threeman defence as he’s been doing it all his career.
This late emergence of Considine was actually one of the positives on what was another painfully low- key night in the national echo chamber.
Yes, he may have been drafted in on a strictly emergency basis but he did enough last night to prove that he can bring his ‘seven-out-ten’ club form into the international arena.
Should Clarke find himself short on the ground for central defensive options at any point in the not too distant future the Aberdeen man will be front and centre in his thoughts after this display.
Also, it really must be said, that Clarke’s decision to redeploy Scot McTominay on the right-hand side of a new-look backline is looking more and more like the manager’s shrewdest move yet.
The Manchester United man may still be getting used to the position but he looked comfortable there for 120 minutes against the Israelis on Thursday night.
Last night there were yet more encouraging signs that he may now be making the unaccustomed role his very own.
Not only was McTominay sound in everythingthi ththatt hhe was asked kd to do defensively but, when Scotland did have the ball in their own possession, he had the blossoming confidence to step forward and join in.
His range of passing and the accuracy of his distribution make him a genuine asset for Scotland in this position.
There is no question that Clarke can feel vindicated where this particular left-field decision is concerned,
Then there’s the blossoming of our very own Crocodile Dumfries, newly recruited striker Dykes.
The former Livingston man continues to look every inch like a proper Scotland striker even if he sounds as if he’s just walked into Clarke’s squad off the set of Home and Away.
This guy looks like the real deal all right and, now that he has bagged two goalsl formf hishi firstfi fourf caps, Clarke can feel rightly proud of the part he played in facilitating the Aussie’s defection to play in dark blue instead.
Getting the Queens Park Rangers striker to jump the Dykes may turn out to be another managerial masterstroke.
It could rank right up there with the positional switch which has made a composed international defender out of Manchester United midfielder McTominay.
Yes, it’s all baby steps right now but there’s no disputing Clarke’s Scotland continue to move in the right direction.
They might not be the kind of guest you would particularly want at a party.
If Clarke and his players can gatecrash their way into next summer’s finals then they’ll do just fine for us.