‘Fearless’ showing down to coaches

John Collins insists Scotland have become fearless under manager Steve Clarke.

The former Scotland and Celtic midfielder was thrilled to see the national team reach Euro 2020 with Thursday’s play-off final shoot-out victory.

Collins, a member of the Scotland team that last played in a major tournament at the 1998 World Cup, insists the manner of the performance in Belgrade shows how much the team have progressed.

Collins said: “A l l credit to Steve Clarke, we controlled the game and it was like we were the home team.

“I was so impressed with the positivity, mindset and the tactics from the players, there was no fear at the beginning of the game.

“I thought we would be edgy but it was the exact opposite – they went on that pitch with belief and it was a huge test of their character. The coaching staff get all the credit.

“I think we’ve made tremendous strides forward.

“Since Stevie came in he’s got us organised and defensively we have been really sound.

“Nine games undefeated, the confidence has started to grow and the players are playing with a lot of freedom.

“In the performance against Serbia everybody was wanting the ball, we were retaining possession and the goal Ryan Christie scored was terrific.”

Collins admits he would never have imagined the country having to endure 22 years of qualifying pain.

Speak ing to talkSPORT, he added: “No-one in the whole of Scotland would have thought that that was possible for us not to be at a tournament for such a long time but it happened.

“Fo o t b a l l is our national sport and for us not to have been to a major tournament is such a shame.”