The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Scotland on red alert
Nations League: Clarke wary of new-look Czech side after Covid chaos
Scotland manager Steve Clarke is refusing to treat Czech Republic lightly despite tonight’s Nations League opponents having to name an entirely new squad.
The Czechs were forced to disband their squad which defeated Slovakia 3-1 on Friday following a Covid-19 outbreak within their camp.
Tonight’s game in Olomouc had been in doubt after the Czechs announced they would not go ahead with the fixture on Friday night, however UEFA stated the match would go ahead the following day.
That has prompted the hosts to introduce a new coaching team and fresh 23-man squad, of which only defender
Roman Hubnik and striker Stanislav Tecl have previously been capped.
Despite their lack of international experience, Clarke does not expect the Scots to have it easy against a Czech outfit ranked 45th in the world – five above his side.
Clarke said: “It is very difficult to sit here and say it will be easier. I am only concentrating on what we can do. We can’t afford to let that kind of mentality come into the camp.
“I am more worried about our performance, how we play and whether we can get the result.
“I think if the situation was reversed and we had to put out a Scottish team that involved players who are not here just now we would put a team out on the pitch and expect them to be very competitive. It will still be a tough game.”
Scotland will encounter a familiar foe in 36-year-old Hubnik, who netted the only goal to defeat the Scots in a European Championship qualifier made infamous by Craig Levein playing without a striker 10 years ago.
Clarke is eager to maximise the little preparation time he has, adding: “We are looking at it and trying to catch various clips of them playing for their country and their clubs. They all play in the Czech Republic top division.
“We will know them as well as we possibly can, but not in a team manner because obviously they’ve never played together before. All we can try to do is find out bits about individual players, what their strengths are, what their qualities are.
“We can find out whether they are right-footed, whether they are left-footed, whether somebody in the squad has got a long throw, who might take the set plays, who might go forward for the set plays.
“I’m pretty sure the big lad who scored against Scotland in the 4-6-0 game will go forward for set plays because he’s the size of a tower block.”
Clarke insists the uncertainty over the game has not affected his squad, adding: “We woke up on Saturday morning, I spoke to my bosses who had already spoken to UEFA and we had been assured the game would be going ahead. For us it was just normal preparation.”