Carver promise to ‘feed the animal’ in the Tartan Army – and to end the goal drought
John Carver admits there has to be a striking difference in Scotland’s performances.
The assistant national coach believes there is plenty for Steve Clarke and the players to be pleased about as they reflect on the Euros.
But, now that the dust has settled, the raw statistics say it all – Scotland got just one goal in three games, and went out of the tournament with just one point.
Carver assures the supporters that a full review of the campaign will take place before the World Cup qualifiers against Denmark, Moldova and Austria in September.
One of the key questions will be how the Scots can add goals to their game.
Carver said: “Something that we have to tidy up on is the finishing at the sharp end of the pitch.
“We created enough chances over the three games, but only scoring one goal is not enough.
“At tournaments, against elite
Look at Spain. They couldn’t score in their group games – then they put five past Slovakia to go through to the Last 16
teams, you have to put them away because you don’t get many.
“You don’t normally get as many as we actually had.
“Look at Spain in the group games. They had loads of chances in their first couple of games, but couldn’t score.
“Then all of a sudden, they put five past Slovakia to go through.
“We’re creating chances but we have to finish them. That’s something we have to be better at.
“So we’ll look at it, and it’s something we’ll try to improve.”
Whether Che Adams and Lyndon Dykes continue to lead the line for Scotland remains to be seen.
Both came in for criticism during the Euros, but there aren’t many alternatives open to Clarke and his coaching team at the moment.
They will be hoping that new Celtic boss, Ange Postecoglou, can revive the career of Leigh Griffiths.
England qualified for the knockout stages of the Euros with two goals, so a small improvement can make a big difference.
Carver went on: “There’s always more pressure because we didn’t progress from the group.
“We put that on ourselves because we want to qualify for tournaments, and then get to the next stage.
“There will always be pressure from the public when you raise the bar. When you raise that bar, you have to then feed the animal.
“And we want to do that, and so do
the players, which is great. They have to believe that there’s real potential within our group.
“Honestly, there have been massive strides made, but we can’t rest on our laurels. We must carry it forward.
“We’ll definitely reflect. It would be wrong not to. We’ll discuss what went well, and what we could have done better.”
Steve Clarke is a man who always does a great job of keeping his emotions in check.
Carver has known him for a long time, and is aware the Scotland boss will be feeling a sense of frustration right now.
He said: “I said I’d give him a few days more before we have a catch-up conversation.
“The manager keeps everything close to his chest, but I know him and he’s hurting, of course he is.
“The day after the Croatia game, I could sense it in him. But it’s my job to pick him up because we’ve been friends since 1999. I’ll be there for him.
“He was definitely hurting the next day, and he had to deal with that disappointment.
“We hadn’t been in a major competition for 23 years, and we got that opportunity.
“But little things went against us, like losing Billy Gilmour to Covid for the last game and losing Grant Hanley to injury before half-time against Croatia.
“We didn’t have Kieran Tierney in the first game, either.
“You need a bit of fortune to go for you in a tournament, and we didn’t get that.
“I’m sore as well because I wanted to do well for Steve and the country.
“But we have to deal with it in a positive way, and get ourselves ready for September.
“We’ll have two or three weeks of down time, and then get our heads on the World Cup qualifiers.
“I genuinely think the team, and the nation, has momentum.
“Although it was disappointing that we didn’t qualify, the response from the fans after Croatia was fantastic.
“I sense that we’re getting better, and hopefully we can take that into September.
“Believe me, that period will be just as important as the Euros.
“Remember, I was watching from afar the reaction when Scotland were losing to the likes of Belgium and Russia right at the start of Steve’s reign.
“But there’s been a bit of pride brought back to Scottish football.”