We’ve got to be perfect
● Scotland boss Clarke knows it will be tough against Belgium but won’t sit back
Steve Clarke says his Scotland players must strive for perfection if they are to cause a shock in their Euro 2020 qualifier with Belgium tonight.
The former Kilmarnock boss began his tenure with a 2-1 win over Cyprus at Hampden Park on Saturday to move the Scots three points behind the Red Devils, who have won all three Group I matches.
Belgium are the world No 1 ranked team but Clarke believes he knows what is needed to beat them in Brussels.
He said :“Hopefully the players remember a lot of the messages they got last week, and then you have to execute your plan.
“We have to hope for an almost-perfect performance, certainly defensively. We can’t make too many mistakes because we know if we do, that we will be punished.
“They are a good team. We will give them all the respect they deserve, we will go out there and try to make it as difficult as possible for them.”
Former West Bro ma nd Reading manager Clarke, however, stressed that simply defending for the whole game is not an option. He said: “I always say to the players that you have to let the op po sition know that you have the capability to hurt them, so it’s important to get the defensive side right but, if you go through the game and try to play 97 minutes with no attacking threat, then it’s going to be a really long night, so you have to get the balance right.
“Belief and mentality is very important. It’s something we spoke about a lot last week, the positivity that we try to build around the camp.
“I think there was a good feeling going into the Cyprus game. We did the usual Scottish bit where we tried to make a mess of it but we finished the game well and on a high so we still have that positivity around the squad and hope - fully you can see that on the pitch tomorrow.”
Belgium beat Scotland 4-0 in a Hampden friendly last September when Alex Mcleish was in charge but Clarke reads little into that.
The former Scotland defender said: “Things have changed. Football has moved on. Every game is different, there are no two football matches the same. Hopefully a better performance from us and a better outcome.”
One of the visiting sc orer st hat night was Manchester United strike r Rome lu Lukaku, with whom Clarke worked at West Brom. The Scotland boss added: “He was a very talented player, it was great to work with him. We had a fantastic season together at West Brom, and he scored 17 goals for us.
“We finished in a very good position. He’s got a great work ethic, he was a boy who loved to score goals.
“I’m really pleased he’s had such a fantastic career but obviously I hope he doesn’t do so well tomorrow night.”
The team that eats together, wins together. It sounds like a sports scienceapproved upgrade on the old drinking culture maxim which famously bonded R angers’ nine -in-arow squad in the 1990s.
But, according to Ryan Fraser, the simple act of dining as a group of players while on international duty has kickstarted a significantly improved sense of unity and purpose in the Scotland camp under Steve Clarke.
It is one of several house rules the new manager has imposed on the Scotland players who delivered a winning star t to his tenure against Cyprus on Saturday night.
According to Bournemouth winger Fraser, a better environment has instantly been created around a squad he says was previously disconnected.
“He (Clarke) hasn’t had long with us but he has already made an impact,” said Fraser. “He has imposed rules off the pitch – stuff like no phones at the game, eating together ever y day at the hotel. No-one is allowed to leave the table until everyone is finished eating.
“No-one is having dessert anymore – everyone wants to get back to their room! No, listen, I think we needed it.
“Over the years I’ ve been involved, you’ve had people sometimes not even coming down for dinner. So it’s nice to have a couple of rules in place.
“It’s hard to create that team spirit with a national team because you are so rarely together. The squad can change every time one is announced.
“So it’s nice to have these rules he has introduced. Sometimes they are hard rules to keep to but, at the same time, the team spirit and togetherness is so much better.
“It’s just about trying to get the team together, get the team bonding and get that spirit. You saw that in the way we stuck together and got the winner against Cyprus.”
It’s evident that Clarke has found no difficulty in commanding the respect of the Scotland players. Fraser, poised to win his ninth cap against Belgium in Brussels tonight, says the former Killie boss succeeds in being both authoritative and approachable.
“You never know if you have played well for him by his reaction,” added the 25-year-old. “He’s quite scar y! But you can also go to him and ask him stuff, which is nice.
“You don’t want to be on the wrong side of him but, at the same time, his door is always open. If you have anything you
need to ask, he is always there. There are some managers out there, you can’t go and ask them stuff because they’ll bite back. He’s not like that. If you have a legitimate question, he’ll give you a simple answer.”
Simplicity will be the key to how Scotland play under Clarke. Even as one of the team’s flair players, Fraser is happy to embrace the more pragmatic approach being introduced.
“He has worked on foundations that are more defensive, making us hard to beat, but at the same time he gives the front four the licence to go and do their stuff,” observed Fraser.
“I haven’t played under a lot of managers in my career so far but he obviously has a different way of playing.
“He’s very defensive but he likes the top four players to go forward whenever they can. I’ve got Eddie Howe at Bournemouth where the whole team will go for ward whenever they can.
“So it’s different, but I wouldn’t say one is better than the other. It is what works for you, with whatever players you have in your team. With Scotland, it def
initely needed a change. Over the past couple of years we have been easy to beat and have conceded goals too easily. It’s not been nice and we haven’t come back from those situations in games.
“On Saturday against Cyprus, we conceded the equaliser with a stupid goal, from us having a corner to them getting the one they scored from.
“The way we came back from that showed the character of this team. It would have been easy to just accept it was going to be 1-1, so it was nice that we responded to win it.
“You could say it was a relief. We didn’t half make it hard for ourselves. But, all in all, the foundations were there.
“We didn’t really look like we were going to concede. I should have scored a couple but was a little bit rusty in the shooting areas.
“In the end, everyone had to walk away with their heads held high. We got the three points and that’s all that matters.”
Fraser’s combination on Scotland’s left flank with full-back and captain Andy Rob er tson was a key feature against Cyprus and shows huge promise.
“In the last three games, I think we have complemented each other well,” said Fraser. “I watch the top teams play and they usually get a lot of space in the wide areas.
“I know when to stay narrow and give Andy his space. I know he likes to cross the ball. At the same time, when I come wide he knows to give me the ball. I think we have a respect for each other, when to give the ball to one another and make things happen.”
“You never know if you have played well for him by his reaction. He’s quite scary! But you can also go to him and ask him stuff, which is nice. You don’t want to be on the wrong side of him but at the same time his door is always open. If you have anything you need to ask, he is always there”
RYAN FRASER ON STEVE CLARKE
While there is renewed optimism and positivity among the Scotland players, Fraser remains realistic about their chances of causing an upset against world No 1-ranked Belgium as the Euro 2020 qualifying bid continues tonight.
“I don’ t know if you can ever be equipped to play these teams, because they are just so good,” he added. “It’s going to be a tough one.
“Even on a bad day for Belgium, if you play your best football you don’t know if it will be good enough to beat them or even get a point off them.
“You can’t take it as a free hit, you have to go into it and try to get at least a point.
“But they are No 1 in the world and they have players who can make you look stupid at times.
“Eden Hazard( pictured right) had me doing 360 degrees pins last season when I played against him in the Premier League. I didn’t know where I was on the pitch!
“That’s the quality of player you are up against and any of them, at any moment, can make something happen.”