Under-fire Clarke insists focus all on defeating Armenia

STEVE CLARKE brushed aside questions about his future as Scotland manager yesterday and expressed confidence his team can put their defeat by the Republic of Ireland firmly behind them with a win over Armenia tonight.

The 58-year-old has come under pressure following the heavy Nations League loss to Ireland in Dublin on Saturday – a result that came 10 days after the Qatar 2022 play-off semifinal reverse against Ukraine at Hampden.

The national team’s hopes of topping Group B1 and securing a Euro 2024 play-off place will suffer a serious setback if they are beaten in their final match of this international break in Yerevan this evening.

But Clarke, who led his country through to the Euro 2020 finals last

summer and then oversaw a six-game winning run in World Cup qualifying this season, is unconcerned by the criticism which he and his players have been subjected to in the past few days.

The 58-year-old, who admitted he has several injury concerns and will make changes to his starting line-up for the match in the Vazgen Sargsyan

Republican Stadium, stressed he still has complete faith in his charges.

“I think we have improved a lot,” he said. “We’ve had a little dip. It is sore to take, sorer for some than others. But we’ll get through it and we will come out the other side.

“After Saturday I get the feeling that a lot of the players want to finish the season on a good note.

“Listen, the most important thing for me is that we want to win this game because we want to go into the September camp with a realistic chance of topping this group.

“It would be very difficult if we didn’t win. It would be much more difficult. But I expect to win.”

Clarke added: “The mood’s been good. There are certainly lots of things we can work on and get better at. But there were actually one or two things from the game on Saturday we did quite well.

“As a coach I’ve got to be balanced. I can’t just be destructive, I’ve got to be constructive as well. So we’ve looked at both sides.

“There’ll be some changes. I’ve one or two significant injury doubts that will play a part. I’m also conscious I’ve got to freshen the team a little bit for the fourth game at the end of a long campaign for a lot of the players. So there’ll be some changes.”

Asked if he would fear for his position if Scotland are beaten by Armenia, he said: “Ifs and buts.”