Those days are past now ... and in the past they must remain
UNEXPECTED and humiliating defeats to international minnows away from home have derailed Scotland’s attempts to reach the finals of the European Championships and World Cup all too often in recent years.
But for manager Steve Clarke those days are past now–- and will remain there for the foreseeable future thanks to the strong winning mentality of his group of players.
The national team can secure second spot in their Qatar 2022 qualifying section and book a berth in the playoffs next March with a game to spare if they beat Moldova here in Chisinau this evening.
Overcoming limited rivals who have picked up just a solitary point from eight Group F matches – they drew with the Faroe Islands on their own turf in their opening outing back in March – would seem straightforward enough.
Yet, the Scotland supporters who will cram into the Zimbru Stadium tonight will, despite the four-game winning run the visitors are currently on and the questionable quality of the opposition, do so with a certain sense of trepidation.
The myriad sorry slip-ups this country has suffered just when a place at a major tournament seemed assured remain painful memories for many Tartan Army footsoldiers.
Clarke, though, is adamant those embarrassments are an irrelevance to a team that ended a wretched 23-year run of abject failures when they beat Serbia on penalties in the Euro 2020 play-off final in Belgrade a year ago today.
“We haven’t done it,” he said. “I know it’s something historical, but it’s not connected with us. We went to the Faroes last month and it was a tough game. But we managed to get the result we wanted.
“We managed to avoid that tag there so hopefully we come out of this game and we’re all in a good place. And that we’re all looking forward to the play-offs in March. Ultimately that’s the aim.
“We have proved that this group has a mentality where they don’t want to drop silly points in recent matches. Okay, we left it late against Israel. And we left it late against the Faroes. But we got the job done.
“If we have to leave it late against Moldova before we secure the points that we need then that’s what this group will do.”
Who plays in the absence of the suspended Lyndon Dykes, the Queens Park Rangers player who became the first man to score in four consecutive Scotland games for 52 years when he netted a last-minute winner against the Faroe Islands in Torhsavn last month, is the biggest selection headache Clarke faces.
He could field Kevin Nisbet or new recruit Jacob Brown in attack alongside Che Adams – or play the Southampton forward as a lone striker and bring in Stuart Armstrong, Kenny McLean or David Turnbull alongside John McGinn behind him.
Clarke has certainly been pleased with the impression that Stoke City player Brown has made since joining up with the squad for their warmweather training camp in Spain this week and will have
qualms about handing him a debut.
“It’s Jacob’s first camp and funnily enough he knew almost none of the players which is unusual in football,” he said. “Normally your paths have crossed a little bit. So he was a little bit nervous when he first came in, but the lads have made him feel at home and he’s trained well, which is good.”
Scotland made it through to the Euro 2020 play-offs thanks to topping their Nations League group when Alex McLeish was in charge back in 2018.
Clarke admitted he will feel a greater sense of satisfaction if his side get the job done tonight and argued that finishing second in Group F will show the progression they have made during the two and a half years he has been charge.
He will take pride from the fact the national team were seeded third behind Denmark and Austria when the draw was made in Switzerland last December.
But the former Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle United assistant will not allow his charges to let up if they achieve their objective; he will immediately turn his attentions to beating the runaway group winners at Hampden on Monday and then
winning both play-off matches.
“The first target for us was to qualify for Euro 2020 and we managed to do that,” he said.
“But we managed to achieve that on the back of the work Alex, his staff and the players at that time did, by getting us through the Nations League.
“If we can finish second in this group, and then get through the play-offs, then it’ll feel a little bit more like coming through the front door, rather than the back door.”
Clarke added: “I think the achievement will be judged by others. We will obviously be happy to secure second place in the group if that is what we can do over the course of the next two matches.
“If we have done that it means we have jumped a place in the seedings and got above the second seeds to finish in a play-off place.
“Whether people want to judge it as a success, for us in the camp looking at it it’s a measure of improvement and we want to keep improving. It’s another step on a long road from where we were to where we want to be.
“It is difficult to do because you always have good teams seeded above you. I think the fact we dropped so low in the seedings was disappointing.
“When I look at the squad of players we’ve got I still think we can improve.
“So we just continue to keep working and work hard to get the required points to get us second place.
“It’s a measure of improvement. It will be judged by other people. From within we know we are improving. I have spoken consistently over the last 12 months about seeing improvement in this group of players.
“If we can do something tangible, and finishing second in the group would be a tangible, measurable achievement, then other people can decide whether it is success.”
“For us it would be reasonable success, or a reasonable step forward, but if we do manage to secure second place then obviously we want to go to the play-offs and win two more matches and get to the World Cup because ultimately that’s what we want.”