FAROES ARE NO WHIPPING BOYS

Tough test awaits in Torshavn as Clarke insists minnows are now much improved

THE haar that gently rolled into Torshavn’s picturesque harbour yesterday morning could do as it pleased. Those on board the charter flight that arrived from Edinburgh later in the day alighted with total clarity over what is now required of them in order to make the play-offs for the World Cup in Qatar.

Victory in the Faroe Islands for Scotland tonight will set up a trip to Moldova next month as an opportunity to get the job done ahead of a final game with Denmark at Hampden.

Considering how bleak the outlook appeared after a grim loss in Copenhagen last month, it’s been quite the turnaround for Steve Clarke and his squad.

For a nation so familiar with new levels of heartache, Saturday’s epic victory against Israel felt like an out-of-body experience.

Scotland generally just don’t score stoppage-time winners in defining matches. Especially not at the end of games where numerous chances have been spurned.

So when they do arrive, seasoned followers of the national team tend to brace themselves for the crushing low that invariably follows.

Back in the North Atlantic archipelago as the home straight of this qualifying campaign comes into view, those who made this journey in 1999 and 2002 can attest to the perils which may lie in wait.

The score draws that Scotland sides led by Craig Brown and Berti Vogts recorded in this outpost have never truly been lived down.

With Faroese football having developed no end in the intervening years, to assume anything tonight would be folly in the extreme.

‘The past form won’t count for anything,’ said Scotland boss Clarke. ‘The atmosphere and what we are going to face over there will be different to what a lot of these players have faced before, but the historic results don’t matter.

‘What matters is the Faroes now are improving all the time. They qualified out of their section in the Nations League, they can win games, they are well organised.

‘We saw that at Hampden. The 4-0 scoreline had a little bit of gloss on it for us. It wasn’t a 4-0 game. It was a right good game for a long time.

‘It was only towards the end that we started to get away from them, so we expect a difficult game.

‘They have their own way of playing. They have good physicality. The goalkeeper has a very long kick. I’m not saying they always play direct, but they have the option to be long and direct and be straight at your back four or back five.

‘So there are different problems to the ones that Israel gave us the other night.

‘That’s something we have touched on in training and we will touch on again in the meetings. And make sure that we are ready for a tough game.’

Having won away in Austria last month, the received wisdom was that a victory over Israel would signify the chequered flag being waved in the race for second pace.

Little wonder that Hampden was such a cauldron of noise when Scott McTominay settled the issue right at the death.

But while Scotland’s main rivals may now believe that the game is as good as up, Clarke has to prevent his players entertaining any such thoughts.

The Faroe Islands are modest opponents. Moldova are probably not even that good.

But on their day, in their own environments, they are still capable of punishing any trace of complacency.

‘If we can continue this unbeaten run all the way into the play-offs in March, that would be fantastic for us,’ said Clarke.

‘But we’re also very, very aware that there are potholes in the road that you can fall down.

‘So we have to avoid those potholes and problems and make sure we do get second place and we do get to the play-offs. That’s the only thing on our minds. Nothing else. The next game is the most important game.’

Increasingly, though, this Scotland side has earned the trust of its manager and supporters.

After a defeat in Denmark, the storm clouds were gathering. Qatar looked like a pipe dream. The wisdom of the SFA extending Clarke’s contract was a legitimate source of debate.

Three straight wins have changed the narrative entirely. The feelgood factor which gripped the nation in Serbia last year has returned.

‘I look at this group and, leading into the Nations League play-offs, we went eight games unbeaten,’ said Clarke.

‘So that tells me that this group of players understand what they have to do, how they have to arrive in certain games, what state of mind they have to be in to get the next result — and the next result.

‘I think their quality is quite good as well, their ability to take on board the tactical information and their ability to turn around matches that they have to turn around.

‘I have mentioned it and I will mention it again because people keep saying we can’t score goals.

‘On a night when we had to score three goals, we scored three goals. We can do what we have to do to win games.’

As the wait to see Scotland compete in another major tournament dragged from years into decades, the default position was for players to talk up the spirit in the camp.

As the list of absences from finals grew longer, though, the concept became an increasingly harder sell.

You sense that the current crop are not just spouting empty platitudes. Their craft is complemented by redoubtable character.

‘The most important part of the squad is the ones who don’t start, who don’t play,’ added Clarke.

‘They are the ones who are getting the bib in training and asked: “Can you be Austria? Can you do this for us tactically in the training session? Can you be like Israel? Can you be like the Faroes”?

‘These are the players we rely on for the squad spirit. It is easy to be a great member of the squad when the head coach is picking you every match.

‘The other ones are the ones who keep the squad together, who keep the spirit up. A lot of people get the big, big headlines, the ones who people might deem to be star names. To me, they’re all star names.

‘Andy (Robertson) gets it, he’s the captain. John McGinn gets it because he scores lots of goals. (Lyndon) Dykesy gets it for different reasons — scoring goals and missing penalties...

‘Within the squad you have people like Kenny McLean. Kenny is keeping Billy (Gilmour) out of the Norwich side at the moment and Kenny is not getting any minutes under me.

‘So for him to come in and be as positive as he is is a great thing. Kieran Tierney doesn’t get too much big publicity off the media, but Kieran is playing out of position. He is doing a job for the team. He is fitting in well.

‘Him and Andy have worked up a really good understanding on that left-hand side.

All these things come together and that grows your squad, your group of players. It’s really important.’