Clarke calls out critics of his captain

Scotland manager forced to defend Robertson

STEVE CLARKE last night hit back at “really poor” criticism of his Scotland captain Andy Robertson in the wake of the 1-1 draw with Israel in the Qatar 2022 qualifier in Tel Aviv on Sunday.

Clarke felt the Liverpool defender had performed well in the Group F fixture in the Bloomfield Stadium both as a wing back in the first half and as a left back in the second after a switch of formation.

He was disappointed at the reaction to his skipper’s display from some fans and the media and insisted the match proved that Robertson and Arsenal player Kieran Tierney can play in the same side.

Asked if getting both players into the same starting line-up was a problem for him, Clarke said: “I think it’s a problem more for the media, the pundits and the supporters. Not for us.

“I thought our left hand side, with

Robertson and Tierney - whether Kieran was at left centre-back and Andy at leftback or Kieran left of a three with Andy left wing-back - worked well.

“I thought the criticism of Andy Robertson the other night was poor. He had a good game so judge the player. It was poor, really poor as Andy Robertson had a good game for us the other night in the first and second half.

“Listen, we’ve spoken about this one before with everyone saying you can’t get Kieran and Andy in the same team.

“But we can do it. We’ve done it. Consistently. And maybe that’s one of the reasons we’ve qualified for a major tournament. Both of them were decent that night [in the Euro 2020 play-off final in November]. For me it’s no longer a discussion. We can do it.

“They can play in the same team. Kieran likes to play on the left as well as Andy. I think we have found a way to do that.”