Anything less than victory over Israel makes it easy for Clarke to walk away
THE prospect of sitting through a sixth game in two-and-a-bit years between Scotland and Israel hardly makes the heart sing in anticipation of magic, stardust and fantasy, but there is a heck of a lot riding on tonight’s events in Tel Aviv.
Anything other than a victory would leave Steve Clarke’s side behind the eight-ball when it comes to qualifying for the World Cup, of course. That goes without saying.
Israel are the fourth-best team in the group, we have already dropped points at home to Austria and we still have to play top seeds Denmark twice. You don’t need to be Einstein to work out the permutations.
Failure to secure a much-needed three points, however, might also make it easier for Clarke to make a decision about his future should an enticing offer materialise to return to the club game after the Euros this summer.
In truth, it would make it pretty easy, indeed.
Thanks to the disruption created by Covid, we will be in the rare situation tonight of having a fair idea how the World Cup qualifiers are shaping up before the previous European Championship campaign has finished.
If it’s already looking like we’ll have a mountain to climb to make it to the finals next year, what’s the point in the manager hanging around if something of interest lands on his desk?
As things stand, there is a strong likelihood Clarke will receive an approach from somewhere. He has already been put on the spot over links with the vacant position at Celtic and made it clear he is unwilling to rule anything out.
It is a wise position to take. He lied in public about being spoken to by Rangers prior to Steven Gerrard’s arrival at Ibrox and ended up having to say sorry in public, so he is clearly capable of learning new lessons despite his 57 years.
His words when quizzed on Celtic, though, rang alarm bells. They did not sound anything remotely like those of a man planning a swansong in Qatar before seeing out his dotage with the grandchildren.
‘Why would anybody say they don’t want anything?’ he exclaimed. ‘I could be somewhere else in the summer. I don’t know what’s going to happen.’
Clarke certainly should be on the shortlist of candidates for the job at Parkhead. If Dermot Desmond and Co are at the point of looking seriously at Roy Keane as a candidate, how can he not be?
What has to be remembered, however, is that he also has an incredible platform upon which to attract — or convince — other suitors over the course of June.
A meeting with England at Wembley with the eyes of the world watching. Two home games, pending a UEFA decision on Hampden’s continued suitability, against Croatia and the Czech Republic.
Any kind of result in any of those fixtures puts you in with a fighting chance of getting through to the knockout stage — with four of the six third-placed teams in the groups making up the last 16.
Long shot as it may be, that kind of achievement would put Clarke’s stock at a new high. And he’s a guy who knows all too well how important it is to strike while the iron is hot in a loonball trade driven by fickleness and fads.
It is football’s lack of logic, after all, that saw him land up at lowly Kilmarnock after being frozen out of the game just three years after leading West Brom to eighth in the English Premier League.
Look, beating Israel might still not be enough to keep Clarke in situ with Scotland beyond the summer. He has done what he was asked to do in ending the nation’s 23-year wait for an appearance at a major finals.
If he goes back to the day-to-day involvement of the club environment he relishes, we will have little option but to thank him, move on and cling to the warmth of that incredible night in Belgrade that we all shared together from behind our sofas in the front room.
It’s just that his slow-burning Scotland project is starting to bear fruit. The display in Serbia that secured a place at Euro 2020 via penalty-kicks was fantastic.
Those puzzles that existed over where best to play key performers such as Kieran Tierney, Andy Robertson and Scott McTominay are being solved. His ability to help players find new levels has been encapsulated in the likes of Declan Gallagher and Stephen O’Donnell.
In the 2-2 draw with Austria in midweek, the spirit Clarke is developing within the squad was clear to see against a team sitting considerably higher in the rankings.
He has proved the right choice for the job. The players clearly want to play for him. It would be hard for all of us to go back to square one when there are such signs of promise.
That’s why beating Israel tonight is about much more than just keeping a campaign going. It is about giving Clarke a reason to stay. And then waiting. And hoping.