WE EARNED TICKET TO PARTY
Clarke glad Scots will be a happy host nation
DEFEAT to Serbia would have given rise to an embarrassing scenario for Scotland. Playing host at a party they hadn’t been invited to.
Victory eventually secured after a heart- stopping penalty shoot- out at t he Red Star Stadium, Steve Clarke can see the lighter side now.
With Glasgow pencilled in to act as one of 12 venues for the final t o ur nament next s ummer, however, a deeply unappealing side effect of failing to qualify would have been watching Serbia j oin the Czech Republic and Croatia at a knees-up in George Square as the Tartan Army stood on the outside kicking their heels.
‘It would have been Scottish,’ grinned the manager after a memorable night of qualifying drama. ‘It would have been the most Scottish thing ever. And we tried to be even more Scottish by conceding the l ate goal and risking glorious failure again.
‘So big credit to the lads again, they’ve managed to get across the line. It would be great if we could get control of the pandemic and get the chance to play some matches in Glasgow with the full backing of the Tartan Army. That would be special.’
Delayed a year by Covid- 19, exactly where the finals will take place remains subject to change. For obvious r easons UEFA couldn’t have picked a worse time to experiment with 12 host cities.
A contingency plan to hold the event in Russia has already been mooted. Yet Clarke has always been less concerned with whether fans party in George Square or Red Square than he was with making sure his team earn a seat at the party in the first place.
It was close in the end. When Serbia cancelled out Ryan Christie’s goal in the 90th minute it felt almost impossibly gut-wrenching. But Clarke had asked his players to leave nothing on the pitch. Physically, mentally and emotionally drained, Christie’s post-match interview showed the players followed their manager’s instruction to the letter.
‘We knew, because of the height of the Serbian team, that they could be a risk for set-plays,’ said Clarke. ‘And to suffer that one so late was a bit of a blow.
‘But I’m just happy that the players performed the way they performed. Sometimes the fear of l osing can overcome the anticipation of winning. And I told them that before the game.
‘I said: “Make sure you anticipate winning this game, don’t play with fear”. And they didn’t play with fear. They were very, very brave.’
The Luka Jovic goal could have knocked the wind from their sails. Barely a minute and a half after Serbia levelled, Scotland’s manager had to gather his thoughts and settle down his players. The task was made harder by t hree substitutions made to protect the lead in the final minutes. Once extra-time beckoned, the creativity offered by Christie, Lyndon Dykes and John McGinn had gone. Clarke had to think on his feet.
‘It was another 30 minutes to qualify for Euro 2020,’ he told the players.
‘It was a big blow, but when you have the character that we have in the group and the desire we have to be successful, we had to realign their focus and let them know that in 30 minutes we could still be going to Euro 2020.
‘The game wasn’t lost. It was level again, so 30 minutes to qualify.’
When the dust settled and the players’ cries of ‘no Scotland, no party’ had died down on the Belgrade pitch, Clarke took time to reflect on a huge turnaround. Scotland were rock bottom when he took over, losing 4-0 to Belgium then Russia back to back.
‘I think after the difficult start you come out of club management and into international management and think you can work the same way and change things quickly.
‘It took time. We had some heavy defeats. It was a good learning process and the motivation for me is always to be the best I can be.
‘I knew I hadn’t got it quite right in the first few games at the start. But I knew also that we were building from a very low base.
‘But we managed to do that and the first response of people will be to say: “You should be beating San Marino 6-0”. But on the back of a 4-0 spanking in Russia, it was a big 6-0 — because Scotland don’t always beat San Marino 6-0.
‘From there we have slowly built the confidence of the group.’
There were brave decisions along the way. Fielding Scott McTominay in a back three seemed a rash decision at first. Throwing Lyndon Dykes in at the deep end proved utterly inspired, the Queens Park Rangers forward transforming Scotland’s fortunes in attack with his hold-up play and strength,
‘Players that maybe weren’t in my initial thoughts are in the thoughts now,’ said Clarke. ‘And confidence is a great thing.
‘It’s now nine games unbeaten. The first time for a long time.’
Scotland have now gone nine games unbeaten for the first time in 44 years.
‘If we can make it ten, we win the Nations League B Group and make it to the A section,’ said Clarke. ‘That’s an achievement as well.’
The next challenge is to secure another play-off place for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The rigours of Serbia — and the after-match celebrations — are likely to witness a raft of changes for the games with Slovakia and Israel.
‘It’s Slovakia and Israel to try to make qualification for the next World Cup easier. That’s the next target. Thursday was a nervy night, but probably not as nervy as Israel.
‘That’s the most pleasing thing for me. We played really well and we’re not going away as glorious failures. We’re going away as winners — and that’s massive.’
“It would have been the most Scottish thing ever but all credit to the lads for getting us over the line”