Squad is growing in strength and depth as Dalglish predicts a bold Scots show
AS painful as it was to endure Scotland’s lengthy absence from a major competition, anyone believing that such a dismal sequence owed much to misfortune was only ever indulging in a futile act of self-delusion.
In the years between France 1998 and the delayed staging of Euro 2020 this summer, the national team generally got what it deserved.
For all the stellar names to have worn the Dark Blue jersey in those years, there was never truly the strength in depth to justify the fresh wave of optimism that accompanied the start of each campaign.
This now feels different. Where once the bulk of English-based players came from the Championship, now they are drawn from the Premier League. And not just from struggling clubs either. From Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Manchester United.
There are older heads in Callum
McGregor, James Forrest and David Marshall plus those — like Lyndon Dykes and Stephen O’Donnell — who seem to grow a foot taller in Dark Blue.
The young guns, Billy Gilmour, David Turnbull and Nathan Patterson, do not have a cap between them. Yet they each have the talent to light up the stage.
Despite the absences of Ryan Jack and Kenny McLean, there are plentiful options all over the field. For the first time in a generation, a Scotland boss has headaches of all the right kind.
‘Stevie (Clarke) has done a fantastic job there,’ said Scotland legend Kenny Dalglish.
‘I think the squad that he’s getting to pick from is getting stronger and deeper the longer we go on. There are more boys playing at the top level in the Premier League in England than before when he came in. I think we’re heading positively in the right direction.
‘The stronger the depth of the squad, the better chance you have of being successful.
‘It all looks pretty promising but we’ve got a really, really difficult section. Just to be there, as long as we can compete, I’m sure we’ll get satisfaction.’
There are also those who have only come into the fold lately. It was in March that Southampton striker Che Adams agreed to play for Scotland on account of a maternal grandparent.
With pace and power to burn and already with a goal to his name, the 24-year-old has impressed. For all qualification was sealed before he earned his first cap, no one is begrudging him his place.
‘I think it’s important to get someone who can score goals,’ added Dalglish. ‘Getting Che Adams into the squad is a brilliant bonus for us. The boy worked his socks off in the games he had.
‘It’s a difficult position to fill, striker. There aren’t too many about. Not too many are born in Scotland and you can’t manufacture one. We’re grateful for him coming in and I’m sure he’ll be an asset.’
With the tournament starting a fortnight tomorrow when Italy face Turkey in Rome and Scotland welcoming the Czech Republic to Hampden three days later, this is all starting to feel very real.
Six months on from that never-to-be-forgotten night in Belgrade, a generation that’s been deprived of the incomparable thrill of watching Scotland compete on such a stage are about to discover what they’ve been missing.
‘I don’t know if you saw Martin Compston?’ Dalglish said of the Line of Duty actor’s ecstatic reaction to that moment.
‘I thought he found out who H was! I think it summed up everyone’s feelings when Davie Marshall saved that penalty. I think the whole nation went like that. I was certainly up off the couch.
‘You were worrying that he was going to get done for having his feet off the line. The whole nation enjoyed sealing the qualification. Then, we got dealt a really tough hand in the section. But we’re there and we’ve got two games at Hampden.’
Notwithstanding the fact that the National Stadium will only house 12,000 spectators, its familiar surroundings will be welcome.
While the consensus is that Scotland’s best hope of reaching a second round for the first time rests with those games with the Czechs and Croatia in Mount Florida, Dalglish (pictured) also views the trip to Wembley in between with cautious optimism.
‘What do you think they’ll (England) be saying about Scotland?’ asked Dalglish. ‘They’ll be going: “Och, we’re alright, this will be a doddle, we’ll beat them”.
‘I don’t think they’ll underestimate us, but they’ll still be confident of beating us. Just let’s hope that the confidence turns into complacency and gives us a better chance.’
Whether complacency in the English ranks was a factor or not, Scotland more than matched them last time out in 2017. Were in not for a late lapse in concentration, a pair of Leigh Griffiths’ free-kicks would have granted Gordon Strachan’s side immortality.
As it stands, you have to go back to November 1999 at Wembley for the last Scottish triumph in the fixture.
‘It’s always special, a special occasion playing against them,’ recalled Dalglish. ‘Equally, as you get great satisfaction out of winning against them, you get more dejected when you get beat by them. I remember going to Wembley and getting beat 5-1. That wasn’t too pleasant that evening coming home.
‘But I can remember beating them at Wembley and I can remember beating them at Hampden. They were very enjoyable occasions. If we can get a result against them, then it will be very positive, but we’ll still have two games left which might dictate the future.’
Having waited 23 years for the moment, though, there will be no concern over minds wandering towards London on June 18.
Sitting 36 and 26 places below England and Croatia, respectively, in the FIFA rankings, the Czechs represent Scotland’s best hope of a victory which might just be enough to secure qualification for the second phase in its own right.
Dalglish still reflects on his own debut at a major tournament with regret. Willie Ormond’s side did beat Zaire in Dortmund in 1974 but their profligacy was eventually to prove costly.
Yugoslavia and Brazil, who Scotland both drew with, defeated the Africans by more goals. Eliminated despite being undefeated, this was the essence of glorious failure.
‘We won the Zaire game 2-0,’ said Dalglish. ‘It was a struggle and a tough game for us. When you come up against what people would assume as the weaker team in the group, and you get them first, they’re full of enthusiasm and fitness and they want to do well. ‘It’s a difficult game to play first. The difference with us going away, I don’t think we survived the two weeks too well. We didn’t like being away, locked up, trying to prepare for the World Cups. But we didn’t half make some great inroads into the qualification. ‘To qualify as often as we did was fantastic. We qualified for five consecutive World Cups between 1974 and 1990. But once we got there, we should have done a lot better than we did.’