Pride of a nation
Clarke revels in afterglow of Euro 2020 play-off success
THE life of an international football manager follows a curious rhythm in which vast swathes of downtime are interrupted by sporadic periods of concentrated stress. Perfect preparation for 2020, one might argue. A training-ground coach by inclination, there have been times when Steve Clarke has struggled with the transition from his previous hands-on role at Kilmarnock. However, the past year has given him the opportunity to do something special.
By steering Scotland to qualification for a major tournament for the first time in 22 years, the national coach managed to illuminate the darkest of periods.
The scenes in Belgrade as Scotland defeated Serbia on penalty kicks were truly joyous as a locked-down Tartan Army temporarily forgot the chains of isolation and partied into the night.
‘It’s been a successful year,’ reflects Clarke. ‘The aim, the prime objective, was to qualify for a major tournament and we managed to achieve that.
‘But it would be wrong of me to sit here and say we’ve cracked it. We still have work to do and we must improve. It’s been a good year. We should be happy with what we’ve achieved — but look to achieve even more in 2021.’
Given that Scotland’s nine-game unbeaten run was ended by back-to-back defeats to Slovakia and Israel in the wake of qualification, there ought to be no complacency among g Clarke’s squad as they prepare for next xt summer’s finals.
If there is, the national coach expects to detect it in the next international window when the World Cup qualifiers kick off with a March triple header against Austria, Israel and the Faroe Islands.
It’s more likely he will find a group of players pumped up and determined to stake their claims for a place in the 23-man squad for the tournament.
As things stand — and God willing the coronavirus pandemic does not remove Glasgow’s status as a host city — Scotland are due to kick off against the Czech Republic at Hampden on June 14.
Next comes a trip to Wembley to take on Gareth Southgate’s England before Croatia provide the opposition for the final group match in Mount Florida.
The prospect of fans being inside stadiums for these games seems remote but the lack of supporters in Belgrade did not dilute the sense of achievement.
‘I wouldn’t say there was a moment when I realised the magnitude of what qualifying meant,’ says Clarke. ‘Maybe living in England, I’m a bit more detached from it.
‘For me, it was probably the reaction of the players on the night — and of the nation.
‘We definitely gave the country a big lift in a really difficult year. It’s not been easy for anybody this year.
‘We showed what football can bring to a country, just by winning two games against Israel and
Serbia.’
Social-media posts from Belgrade depicting the squad’s celebrations at the stadium and team hotel brought home the joy of the achievement. But there were tears, too. Ryan Christie’s emotional pitch-side interview at the end of the penalty shoot-out struck a chord and there was also the bittersweet moment of seeing lifelong fan Willie Thomson reacting to a personal message from the Scotland manager.
Clarke (left) never did intend his video dispatch to Strathcarron Hospice to reach a wider audience but the interaction between the elderly Thomson, a cancer patient on the final stretch of life’s journey interacting with a proud national coach captured the public’s imagination. ‘When you see the video of Willie and the emotion, you think, “jeez”,’ admits Clarke. ‘You saw what it meant to him. When I did the video message, it was meant to be private, not for the public.
‘But anyone who saw it, and Willie’s reaction to it, will tell you just how much football means to people in Scotland.
‘He was going through a terrible time, getting towards the end of his life. And, at this moment, I pass my condolences on to his daughter Anne-Marie and the rest of his family. It’s a really sad time.
‘It was a great thing and it’s such a shame that Willie hasn’t seen Christmas this year. It was wonderful to be involved in that moment between two football people.’
Possessed with a bone-dry sense of humour and an almost pathological resistance to grinning, Clarke’s interaction with the late Willie shone a light on the softer side of his personality.
He admits his emotions spilled over in the wake of qualification and, in a wider sense, the year has given him a chance to reflect on how the game he has served and made a highly successful career out of can be a force for unity.
Those lockdown months when there was no football at all felt like a torture and the timing appeared particularly bad for the Scotland coach.
On the March weekend the game was suspended, he was in the process of putting the final touches to his squad for the original play-off dates with Israel and the winner of the other semi-final between Norway and Serbia.
Had that quick-fire double header gone ahead as planned, the Scotland team would have looked very different.
‘It was a really strange time for everybody,’ he recalls. ‘I remember sending a text to (SFA chief executive) Ian Maxwell asking if he thought the game would be in doubt at the end of the month.
‘His reply was that he thought the game would go ahead with a potential restriction on the crowd.
‘But, within days of sending that message, everything was stopped and the country was shut down.
‘It was a little bit disruptive but I’m going to tell you
something — had we played in March, I wouldn’t have had time to prepare and change the team.
‘I wouldn’t have played three at the back, that’s for sure. We would have gone with a back four and played our normal 4-2-3-1 .
‘The fact we started back with two Nations League games in September meant I had a chance to look at the 3-5-2 system and that change worked quite well.’
The switch to a back three was implemented principally to find a way of fitting captain Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney into the starting XI.
While Robertson was motoring nicely towards the Premier League title with Liverpool, Tierney’s stop-start season with Arsenal had made him touch and go back in the spring. ‘I had gone to London and spoke to Kieran at the start of March,’ reveals Clarke. ‘We had a chat to see where he was at and he told me then that he couldn’t wait to be back involved with the national team.
‘If he wasn’t going to be fully fit, I think he would have been fit enough to be with us.
‘Injuries are part and parcel of the game, so that wasn’t such a big drama. The biggest thing for me is that I was given a chance to look at the team in that 3-5-2 formation.’
The time out also gave Clarke the opportunity to woo and try out Lyndon Dykes as the team’s new attacking focal point. With two international goals already to his name, the Australian-born striker now looks set to lead the line at the Euros.
It was Livingston who sold Dykes to his new club Queens Park Rangers for £2million and, even without their star player, the West Lothian side have beat a trail to the semi-finals of the Betfred Cup.
With holders Celtic knocked out in an earlier round by Ross County — their first domestic cup defeat in four-and-a-half years — the competition has been ventilated.
Hibs, St Mirren and St Johnstone complete the semi-final line-up, something Clarke believes is another happy by-product of a strange season that is being played out behind closed doors.
‘The fact that football came back when it did gave everyone a lift,’ he admits. ‘It’s been a strange time for the game and you only have to look at the last four in the League Cup to realise that.
‘No one would have predicted that. Personally, I think it’s brilliant for Scottish football as well because it means the trophies will be shared around.
‘Celtic’s achievement of 12 consecutive trophies is marvellous but you don’t want to see one club dominating all the time.
‘I think we’ve all seen the power of football this year. We’ve got into a major tournament with the national team. And I’ve got to mention the Scottish Cup final too — what a game that was, unbelievable to watch.
‘It was a great effort from Hearts to push Celtic all the way. Then you had the drama of the penalties.
‘I think as a country we’re getting to quite enjoy penalty shoot-outs.
‘We may all be heading into a further national lockdown. But the one thing we can do is keep football going and enjoy it.’