Jack of starts
Gers ace Ryan relishing his role in a set-up so strong and organised under ex-Killie gaffer Clarke
RYAN JACK isn’t surprised that Scotland are becoming tough nuts to crack under Steve Clarke.
The Rangers star had plenty of unpleasant experiences as his side battled to try to break down the gaffer’s Kilmarnock teams to understand just how organised the boss can make his set-up.
But Jack’s now part of it. And he’s loving it. Just as he’s savouring being a key part of Clarke’s plans.
The Scotland midfielder relishes his role within a group that is now building serious momentum.
Clarke is turning the team from soft touches into irritatingly organised opposition for rivals, the solid platform bringing a sevengame unbeaten run that is building momentum as well as happiness within the squad.
Jack is buzzing at the progress and said: “The manager was always organised when he was at Kilmarnock and, trust me, there is nobody who knows more than me they were always hard to beat.
“They gave us a good game, it was a tough place to go and when they came to Ibrox it was always a tough day.
“For us, the manager has instilled the mentality that we are not conceding.
“We want to build on clean sheets and if you keep clean sheets then more often than not you are going to win the game, especially given the quality we have at the top end of the pitch.
“We are always trying to get better, to create more chances and be better at the top end of the pitch.
“But at the same time, what we are doing now is working for us and we are getting a bit of joy, so why change it?
“We are all buying into it and hopefully we can continue that. It’s brilliant at the moment.
“It’s a long time since we’ve had this type of run, so for us as a group of players, it’s good to be on it.
“We’ve always said when we met under the gaffer that we wanted to build something and wanted to build momentum to take into each camp and so far, so good.
“This game is another chance for us to keep this going.”
At the age of 28, the midfielder is making himself a crucial cog in that Clarke machine.
However, it wasn’t always that way for the former Aberdeen ace as Jack had struggled to get into squads under previous managers.
Despite being a polished Premiership performer for almost a decade, he hadn’t made his
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competitive debut for his country until last year when Clarke gave him the nod.
Jack has rewarded the manager’s faith with his displays and, as he prepareses to win his eighth cap againstnst the Czech Republic, he said: “When the managerger came in, he spoke to me straight away about rereprepre senting Scotland and how he saw it going forward.rward.
“He madede me feel part off it.
“I’ve notot really hadd a lot of caps. I wish I could have had more but since the manager has come into the job, we’ve had that conversation.
“I missed the first squad through injury bubut he’s always said he wantedwant me to be part of it anand he’s always made me feelfe part of it, so as a player that’s all you want.
“When you come away, it’s then about ggiviv ing your all ono the tratraining pitcpitch and especially in games to get results. You never know when your time is going to come to play and you get the shirt.
“The manager was great with me from the start and I thought that hopefully this would be my time to get some caps and be a part of something we could build, reach a tournament and be successful.”
At a time when international football struggles to capture the attention of fans like the club game across the continent, the emotion showcased by Andy Considine after he made his debut three days ago against Slovakia summed up the mood of pride
among the group. Jackack and the defender were team- mates at Pittodrie and he smiled and said: “Big Andy has been brilliant and everyone saw on Sunday how good he was.
“He brings that calmness and experience. It was a great opportunity for him and there is no doubt he grabbed it with both hands.
“Hopefully going forward we’ll see more of Andy as well. I spoke to him after it and he was buzzing. It has got to mean that.
“I always believed if it didn’t mean that much then there was no point in you turning up.
“It’s got to mean the world to you to come away and put that shirt on and try to perform.
“Andy comes in on Sunday for the game. He met up the day before, got told he was playing and goes in, grabs it with both hands and was excellent.
“It’s credit to Andy and he thoroughly deserves it because he’s had a great career.
“There are going to be times when you will have a bad performance or it’s not going to go well and you get beaten.
“But I’ve always said every time you get the chance to put on that shirt you have to grab it and give it your all.”