Robertson injury scare adds to Clarke’s concerns

to his club and they’ll assess him. Hopefully, he’s back soon.’ On the game itself, the Scotland boss added: ‘Northern Ireland did everything we expected them to do. They defended with their lives. They were good. We weren’t quite good enough to break them down. ‘I think a lot of the players tried to grab the game by the scruff of their neck. We just didn’t create the clean cut chance that would have got us back in the game. We huffed and puffed a bit, but it wasn’t our night. ‘It’s obviously better if you’re winning, but the key is to peak in June, not March. Hopefully, we peak in June. ‘It’s been a long time since we’ve had as much possession as that. I’d be very surprised if we have a game like that in the finals in the summer. We had chances. You can’t criticise them for trying. March hasn’t been our best international camp.’ Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill still believes Scotland can have a strong campaign in Germany against teams less likely to pack men behind the ball. ‘That system is one Steve has really nailed,’ he said. ‘We looked closely at how Scotland have been successful and adopted a similar system in all honesty. ‘The difficulty is if you go behind and how you have to chase the game. ‘Particularly at home when you have a lot of the ball, and that becomes a little bit difficult. ‘Scotland will go to the finals and the games will not be like this. ‘They will not have that level of possession in Germany and I imagine that will suit them a little bit better. ‘They have very good players, you could see that. ‘They are having a little bit of a tricky time, but I wouldn’t be concerned about that. ‘I think they will go to Germany and give a really good account of themselves.’ Scotland defender Liam Cooper added: ‘I don’t think we ever got too high when we got out of the group and now’s not the time to turn on each other and dig each other out. ‘We’ve got to be ready to get back to ourselves and work hard and be the team we know we can be come May and June. ‘I’m sure the group’s going to be disappointed. Obviously, we’re disappointed. ‘This camp has not gone as we’ve expected it to and I think we’ve got to get back to ourselves. ‘I’m sure that’s 17 goals in seven games or something like that we’ve conceded and that’s not what we pride ourselves on. ‘We must be better in that aspect of the game. Northern Ireland sat in tonight and we’ve got to be prepared to be better. ‘We got a bit edgy tonight in the final third at times and could have been a bit more patient and waited for the openings to be there. ‘We forced it at times tonight but that’s all things we can improve on. I’m sure we will. ‘I’m sure the manager knows exactly what we’ll be doing come May for the preparation for the Euros and we’ve got to get our heads down and work hard now.’