THE ROOTS OF OUR REVIVAL
Clarke relishing return to Cyprus, where the seeds of Scots’ success were sown
IT WAS against a bleak backdrop that Steve Clarke took a Scotland team to Cyprus for the first time. Routed in Russia and twice battered by Belgium, hope and encouragement had proved elusive during the first five months of the national coach’s reign. With automatic qualification for Euro 2020 already out of reach, even a 6-0 win over San Marino at a not even half-full Hampden had felt like a hollow triumph. Yet it was the start of something.
In the aftermath of a bruising 4-0 defeat in Moscow a few nights earlier, Clarke had gathered his players and set them the modest goal of finishing third in the section.
The safety net of a play-off place already secure, results were needed to bolster morale ahead of tricky assignments against Israel and Serbia and so the coach framed the November 2019 fixture in Nicosia as a must-win encounter.
‘We weren’t in a great moment,’ recalled Clarke. ‘It was a tough campaign. We had been hammered in Belgium, hammered in Russia.
‘I remember speaking to the lads after the Russia game and saying: “Look, we’re seeded third, the only objective we can achieve in this group is to finish third”.
‘We had to go to Cyprus and win. We managed to do that and that got us the third position. That was just a small step on the way to progressing to qualifying for a major tournament.’
How different things feel ahead of the team’s return to the south-east Mediterranean island this week.
Scotland’s performances at the Coviddelayed Euros may have borrowed a little too keenly from the sterility of the stadium atmospheres but they have built on that major tournament return.
Qatar 2022 proved a bridge too far after running into a supremely motivated Ukraine team in the play-offs but the momentum established in qualification proper has transferred to the first half of the Euro 2024 campaign.
Clarke’s players have made short work of the first four fixtures, blitzing their way to a perfect points tally of 12. Win again in Larnaca on Friday and their place in Germany next summer is all but guaranteed.
Having taken care of Spain at home and sickened Erling Haaland’s Norway in Oslo just a few months ago, there is a convincing determination about this squad.
Even the inherently cautious Clarke (below) sees plenty grounds for optimism and a glance at his 25-man squad explains why. Packed to the gunnels with English Premier League players, the group blends an impressive cap count with a healthy age profile.
This was patently not the case in November 2019 when he sent out a team spearheaded by the current Hearts technical director/ boss Steven Naismith, with Liam Palmer and Declan Gallagher among the supporting cast.
Oli Burke, Oli McBurnie and Mikey Devlin were among the men summoned from substitutes bench where Jon McLaughlin, Lewis Morgan and Craig MacGillivray remained unused.
Not one of those men has been near a squad in years as an emergent group of young players has continued to nourish the squad. Taken to Nicosia for experience, Ryan Porteous was also among the subs in 2019 and is now a regular, stepping up his performances for club and country following his transfer from Hibs to Watford last January.
Aaron Hickey, Billy Gilmour and now Newcastle’s Elliot Anderson provide an impressive supporting cast to proven top-level operators Andy Robertson, Kieran Tierney and John McGinn.
‘I think we have continued to improve,’ continued Clarke. ‘It was never going to be a quick process but we have built a squad which people can see is decent.
‘We have stuck together, they enjoy each other’s company, they enjoy coming away with the national team and enjoy being successful.
‘We’ve started to feed in younger ones. In the last tournament Nathan Patterson and Billy Gilmour came in. Aaron Hickey has come in too.
‘We have got another young one coming in with Elliot. These boys are very talented and that keeps the older boys on their toes.’
There’s also a touch of the exotic to the squad following Jack Hendry’s move to Saudi Arabians Al-Ettifaq and Tierney’s loan to Real Sociedad.
Lewis Ferguson has also spent the past year in Italy, mirroring Hickey’s earlier move to Bologna.
A Serie A scorer against Juventus last Sunday, Ferguson has found it tough to break into a midfield in which McGinn, Callum McGregor, Scott McTominay, Gilmour and Ryan Jack are also vying for a shirt.
At the end of the rain-soaked qualifying win over Georgia in June, the national coach made a point of consoling the Bologna midfielder in recognition of the fact he had not had a minute of action in the double-header that started with a memorable win in Oslo.
‘I want to have difficult choices,’ said Clarke. ‘Lewis is doing fantastic but he understands there are boys in the team doing equally well for the national team. He knows his chance
‘WE HAD TO WIN THAT GAME. THAT WAS JUST A SMALL STEP ON THE WAY TO PROGRESSING TO QUALIFY FOR A MAJOR TOURNAMENT’
will come but he knows he will have to be patient as well.
‘He has the trust of myself, my staff and the players. He is in all the squads, trains well and conducts himself well. His time will come. ‘
Scotland could well find themselves among the first confirmed attendees for next year’s jamboree finals in Germany. These are heady times for Clarke’s side but, with the next three fixtures all away from home, he knows the trickiest part of the campaign is likely round the corner.
Cyprus may not be as daunting an excursion as Seville or Tbilisi but that only adds to the need to secure another three points this week.
‘The first half has gone, we have 12 points. Great start,’ said Clarke. ‘Now we have a tough run of games coming and Cyprus is the first one.
‘The more senior players in the squad are pretty level-headed. I don’t think they are going to turn up over-confident. They know how tough away games can be.
‘Last time we were hanging on for the last 15 minutes, we were under a lot of pressure. To see the game out is very important and people within the football community could see that.
‘Not long after that game I bumped into Mick McCarthy at the Nations League draw. Mick is a very experienced international manager and he said: “What a great result that was in Cyprus”. So people
understand how difficult it is to go to these places and get results.’
A happy consequence of Scotland’s strength is that the marquee friendly against England at Hampden a few nights later is, for now, being treated as a mere sideshow.
Win in Larnaca, however, and Hampden will be the setting for a party that will not only celebrate an anniversary, but Scotland’s re-admission to Europe’s top table.
‘The objective is to qualify for Euro 2024 so we cannot allow the England game to be a distraction,’ added Clarke. ‘The England game will take care of itself. It will be a great occasion — 150th anniversary of the SFA against a top side in England.
‘We look to go into that and do ourselves justice. But first let’s deal with Cyprus.’