Blank Czech
Clarke: We don’t know what team to expect but we will prepare as normal
after a staff member tested positive for coronavirus. UEFA have stepped in to ensure the match goes ahead but Clarke’s team wi l l now go into the unknown.
The Czechs will select a different team altogether, without players from Sparta Prague or Viktor ia Plzen, and potentially including some of their Under-20 squad.
But the Scotland bossoss insists they must only focus onn getting a victory after a draww in their Nations League openerner against
Israel at Hampden onn Friday.
Clarke said: “In terms of analysing and lookinging at the opposition, it’s different. ent.
“I wou ld ima g i ne whatever group of Czech ech players come in, or whatever coach, it will l be a similar system.
“I don’t see too much changing in how they play. But the personnel, we might not know quite as much as about them. .
The most important thing just now is that we concentrate on ourselves and what we do. The game is going ahead so nothing changes for us.
“We had a strange feeling like everyone else on Friday night when the Czech FC came out and said the game wasn’t going to be on.
“But we went tto bed, got up on Saturday, had another Covid tetest and went out to train.
“It hasn’t aaff fected our pplayers in any wway. We’ve told them to prepare for the game as they would anyway. “What forformat or what squsquad the Czech ReRepubl ic a re goigoing to have, we just can’t influence that.” When it was pointed out to Clarke that playing against an under-strength Czech side would make it an easier tie, he said: “That’s not a concern for me. I’m just aiming to keep on trying to improve our performances.
“In the current climate, things can happen. We’re currently in the middle of a global pandemic.
“We have to do what we’ve been doing from the start and that’s react to certain situations. It would be unfair to go any further than that.”
The players have backed Clarke and say they feel 100 per cent safe travelling to the Czech Republic for the game.
He’s also adamant that no club manager has contacted him to express any concerns.
He said: “I haven’t heard anything, nobody’s been in touch with me.
“I’m sure there have been a few calls to the relevant authorities but we’ve got good people looking after us and we’re following all the protocols.
“Dr John MacLean is with the team in camp and has been involved in the process from the start. We’ll go there in a bubble and don’t need to come across anybody. I’ve had four Covid tests in the last 12 days.”
Confusion reigned on Friday night after the Czech’s 3-1 victory away to Slovakia when the Czech FA announced they would not be facing the Scots.
A member of their staff tested positive for coronavirus last week and as a result, players Tomas Soucek and Patrik Schick were put into self isolation.
Now, coach Jaroslav Silhavy will likely step aside and it’s understood that former Sparta Prague boss David Holoubek will take over in the dug-out.
He’ll be missing several key players and MailSport understands as well as cherry picking some U20 stars, players from Slavia Prague who weren’t included in their originally named squad will now be drafted in.
A spokesman for the Czech FA, Michal Jurman, said: “The A team will not be, but we will face Scotland on Monday after a debate with UEFA.”