Christie still backing his No1 choice Clarke to save ailing Scotland
RYAN CHRISTIE knows from Celtic’s clashes with Kilmarnock over the past two seasons just how horrible an experience it can be to play against a Steve Clarke team.
So impressed was he by the former Rugby Park manager’s ability to build a formidable force — one far greater than the sum of its parts — that the Ayrshireman was his one and only choice to succeed Alex McLeish as Scotland boss.
While back-to-back defeats to Russia and Belgium in the European Championship qualifiers last month were disappointing, Christie believes the new national team boss is beginning to make his mark with each and every training session.
Now the 24-year-old Parkhead midfielder can’t wait to witness the Clarke experience from the other side of the fence as part of a Scotland squad modelled on his tried-and-trusted Killie blueprint.
And he hopes the awkward, hard-to-beat mentality that the former West Bromwich Albion manager forges in his teams is evident against Russia in Moscow tonight so Scotland can build some positive momentum ahead of the Euro 2020 play-offs next March.
‘I know from experience how hard it is to play against Steve Clarke’s teams because they are so organised,’ said Christie.
‘When people were calling for him to be given the Scotland job, I was one of them.
‘It was a no-brainer as far as I was concerned after seeing how well he did at Rugby Park.
‘If he can mould us as a group into a team that is as difficult to beat as his Kilmarnock team was, then we have a good chance of progressing.’
Those recent demoralising defeats at Hampden, a 2-1 reverse to the Russians followed by a 4-0 rout by Kevin De Bruyne and Co, might have caused heads to drop.
They certainly ensured that the Scots could not qualify for Euro 2020 from Group I and will now have to rely on getting through the Nations League play-offs in March.
But Christie insisted that the Scotland players are still getting a buzz from working with their new manager.
‘The gaffer has been absolutely tremendous to work with in the camps so far and every single player has noticed that,’ said the former Inverness Caley Thistle and Aberdeen player.
‘It kind of suits us now that the get-togethers are coming every month or so because it gives the gaffer more time to work with us and for us to work with each other.
‘That extra time together should help us. The biggest shame for me about the last two games is that we didn’t get the results for the new manager because we had been in such good spirits at training during the build-up.
‘After we lost to Russia and Belgium, his main message to us was that we have four games left now to get ourselves into top shape and win as many points as we can so we go into these vital play-off games in the best possible condition.
‘The only way to put last month right is to go to Moscow and get a positive result and start to build some momentum.’
It had all started so brightly against Stanislav Cherchesov’s Russians in Glasgow last month when John McGinn put Scotland into an early lead.
But Artem Dzyuba equalised before an own goal from Kilmarnock’s Stephen O’Donnell settled the game in the visitors’ favour.
In the end, the final scoreline flattered Clarke’s side, with Russia hitting the frame of the goal twice and having another effort hacked off the line.
In truth, it was 2-1 but could so easily have been 4-1 or 5-1.
But Christie believes there were still grounds for optimism from the performance that night — and even in the thrashing by the Belgians that followed days later at Hampden — ahead of tonight’s return in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
‘If we could sustain the way we started against Russia for 90 minutes, we would be a very good side,’ said Christie, who will be looking to put last Sunday’s red card in the 2-0 defeat at Livingston in the Premiership well and truly behind him with a good performance for the Scots.
‘It sounds ridiculous but, even against Belgium, we had an excellent five minutes before they hit us on the break.
‘That’s something we have to become more aware of as a team.
‘We need to become more adaptable and we need to develop consistency for the majority of spells during matches rather than just playing well in flashes.
‘If we can do that, then we will start getting the results we want.
‘The talent is definitely there in the squad. When you look around the changing room, you see the quality that we possess.
‘I don’t think we are far away from putting it all together on the pitch.
‘We have a feeling throughout the squad that we just want to get a good run going and we just want to get everyone believing in us again.
‘It’s just about transferring that on to the pitch and the manager is doing his part by coaching us properly in how to do that.
‘Hopefully, by the end of this campaign we will be in a much better place.’