The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Scraping through massive for nation
Steve Clarke’s tenure as Scotland boss has frequently looked like living up to the house of horrors reputation wh ich accompan ies managing the national side.
The man who transformed Kilmarnock from a relegation-threatened side to one qualifying for Europe has sometimes looked haunted in charge of Scotland.
I thought at the time he was the perfect fit for the job.
But there’s little doubt that managing a group of players who are under your charge every day and you can mould is radically different from tutoring a squad of highly paid disparate professionals, used to varying styles of play and management at their own clubs.
However, results are everything in football and Clarke got a hugely important one on Thursday.
No matter how grim a performance is served up, victory washes away the bitter taste of the direst display.
We know we’re behind many nations of similar size in quality of play and style.
Many folk bang on about systems, but no system of play can compensate for poor touch, languid passing and sluggish tempo.
We seem incapable of moving the ball crisply and slickly, let alone getting a decent quality of ball into the danger areas, or getting shots on goal.
Still, we are through to face Serbia in a play-off final for the Euros so our relief is in equal measure to our disappointment at the standard of performance.
I can’t see a Scotland side serving up scintillating and exciting football any time
soon so we’ll need to settle for hard graft and slog.
T h a t ’s not the most appetising of prospects for a nation which once produced the genius of Law, Baxter, Dalglish and Johnstone.
However, it’s better to be inside the sweetie shop than looking through the window and we now have a chance of qualifying for major finals for the first time since 1998.
Serbia, who beat a very good Norwegian side, look to be a bridge too far for us and are likely to expose our limitations.
Given how grim it’s been of late to be a Scotland fan, though, we should celebrate
every ounce of joy which we can squeeze from any result.
SQUADS AT THE READY
With the transfer window closed, Dundee, Dundee United and St Johnstone have assembled the squads which may make or break their seasons.
Marc McNulty has scored goals wherever he’s been and looks a potent partner for Lawrence Shankland at Tannadice.
Un ited have been defensively exposed against the extra quality in the top league so if the strikeforce now in place is as good as it potentially looks, they may have to adopt the old
Celtic mantra of you two goals and we’ll three.
In Charlie Adam, Dundee have a player who should be the best in the Championship and may make the difference in returning to the top flight.
His league debut at Tynecastle next Friday already has the Dens Park supporters in a state of fevered anticipation.
St Johnstone will run with a tight 18-man squad.
Hopefully new Israeli addition Guy Melamed’s confident signing chat is matched with goals.
He’s capable of clinical finishing, something Saints desperately need.
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