Armstrong is determined to earn win the hard way

THE thought of pocketing three points without having to break sweat definitely holds some appeal. A 3-0 walkover win by default, should the chaos-hit Czechs simply decide not to show up tonight? Sweet.

Yet Stuart Armstrong would still rather do this the hard way. In a fair fight.

Because footballers want victories to be won on the field of play, rather than by lawyers studying a UEFA rule book.

The Scotland midfielder laughed when asked if he didn’t fancy a ‘One team in Olomouc’ farce, saying: ‘I think we all would be happy to accept a walkover!

‘Joking aside, three points is three points. You take it any way you can.

‘But, certainly speaking for myself, you want to play. You want to do it on the pitch and represent your country.

‘Yes, it is not a great situation. It is another incident of this pandemic that has frustrated.

‘Nothing can be taken for granted at this time — and you just need to take situations as you find them.’

Armstrong is a Southampton player, of course. Which makes him an employee in the world’s richest — and financially overstretched — league.

So the former Celtic and Dundee United star can clearly understand the anxiety of clubs watching their prized assets dragged all over Europe to compete in the Nations League.

‘Clubs have been in contact to ask about the situation but things were cleared up pretty quickly,’ said Armstrong (above), speaking before heading to the airport for a Scotland charter flight to the Czech Republic.

‘The testing here and protocols round the camp have been top level, as it has been with clubs going back in pre-season and clubs have started already. It has been a continuation of that very good testing environment.

‘I wouldn’t say they (the clubs) were edgy, no. I think they have trust in the organisations when you go to represent your country.

‘Certainly, within our team, we have players from a number of different countries.

‘But there is a lot of preparation that goes into that, a lot of contact between the club and the international countries. Everyone is very well prepared.

‘So I would say they’re quite comfortable with the situation. Football is continuing across the world with protocols in place and, for a large part of that, it’s been very successful. ‘So, in footballers’ minds and certainly in this team, we’re very careful and we follow the protocol.

‘But we’re all very comfortable with how things are progressing.’ Footballers don’t make it beyond academy level without demonstrating an ability to block out the background noise that surrounds the game. Still, staying focused will be a test for even the most experienced members of this squad. If uncertainty is the coach’s enemy, Steve Clarke must feel as if he’s surrounded.

Explaining how the on-off-on-tbc farce had played out since late Friday night, Armstrong said: ‘We heard the news on the way back from the (Israel) game. There was a bit of talk amongst the boys.

‘It was a bit confusing at first but it was cleared up on Saturday morning. There was a bit of uncertainty after the Israel game but it was all cleared up pretty quickly after that.

‘Then it was business as usual and we carried on as normal from the Saturday morning, as we prepared for the game.

‘Am I surprised it’s going ahead? I am not surprised at all.

‘It would have been more surprising if the game hadn’t gone ahead.

‘We were all preparing for the game, especially with the ruling around the situation.

‘The expectation from us was the game would go ahead — and that is how we have approached it.’

Naturally, the Czechs being forced to field a second string completely flips expectations surrounding tonight’s Nations League clash.

Although some bookies are refusing to take bets on the match, the Scots are now favourites with those willing to accept your money. Suddenly, the pressure is on the visitors.

‘With any game, there is always pressure and expectation — and we have grown accustomed to that over the years,’ insisted Armstrong.

‘This is no exception, although we are in a very unusual circumstance with the Czech team having to change most — if not all — of their squad. I don’t think anyone has seen anything like that before.

‘We will prepare for the game to the best of our capabilities and, whatever team they field, I am sure it will be a good one, if maybe slightly less experienced.

‘We will be looking to go into the game with optimism and looking to take as much away from it as possible.

‘Obviously, their squad is pretty brand new, so we’ll have a shorter preparation than usual.

‘But we’ll be focusing on what we want to do in the game. Ultimately, that’s our aim.’