Boss hopes English base will reap rewards

STEVE CLARKE will base his Scotland squad in the north east of England for the Euro 2020 finals, a move the national coach believes will maximise the team’s chances of making history next summer.

Scotland will play two group games in Glasgow but Clarke believes his squad will be best prepared to advance to the knockout stages by training at a distance from the host city. Clarke’s training options have been narrowed by the fact Scotland were the last of the Group D teams to qualify. Scotland open the competition on June 14 at Hampden and opponents the Czech Republic have already laid claim to the Scots’ usual Edinburgh base at the national performance centre at Oriam.

‘We are a long way down the road in getting a training base and we are pretty much certain that we will be based in the north of England,’ said Clarke. ‘So we are leaving Scotland to prepare.

‘We haven’t got Oriam. The Czech Republic had first crack and decided to use that facility. The Croatians have taken St Andrews, which would have been a good facility for us.

‘We looked at what else was around in Scotland and also thought about the fact I want to be in a good camp where we can focus. We are not going to the Euros just to play the group games — we want to get out of the group.’

Scotland’s second group match will be against England at Wembley before Croatia provide the opposition in the second Hampden game on June 22.

Clarke believes there is an opportunity to break new ground this summer and he knows the excitement around the competition will build.

However, he wants to insulate his players against any distractions. Clarke continued: ‘Hopefully everybody is a bit more active, a little more out and about when we get to the summer months.

‘You’ve used the word mayhem and that might be the case. I think being away from it, being detached and a little bit more isolated, will benefit us in terms of preparation and making sure we are ready for the matches.’