STEVE CLARKE
In the time between Scotland beating Serbia and the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, did you notice a change in the players?
When we got them into training before facing Austria, I looked at the standard and said to [coach] John Carver that we have given ourselves a problem because the standard had gone up. It was good to see. You can tell the players are happy and hopefully that bodes well for the future.
With all the euphoria, are you concerned players might get caught up in the hype?
The players are excellent and deserve all the credit for getting to Euro 2020, but I have told them they want to be successful and not just qualify for one tournament. I want them to be consistently successful. Not rest on their laurels and wait 24 years before another. I will be in my 80s if I have to wait that long!
The pandemic curbed public celebrations but how did you celebrate qualifying?
I just went home and spent time with my family. I didn’t really think about it too much. I’ve got to be honest, I finished the week disappointed because we lost the last two Nations League games after the Serbia
play-off, but that’s just the life of a football manager. So I’ve not been basking in it.
How impressed have you been with the form of Scott McTominay for Manchester United this season?
He has done really well and to become a first choice in that Manchester United team is not an easy thing with the competition they have at Old Trafford for places. He finished last autumn playing centre-back for Scotland but we need to use him in midfield, too. So I have brought Jack Hendry in and he has all the same attributes – tall, uses the ball well. He is a good player with the attributes of a modern defender. I am surprised it didn’t work out for him at Celtic, initially, but he’s done very well on loan in Belgium.
You are having to make Scotland’s training camp in the north-east of England. Do you believe getting out of the country will be a benefit?
We haven’t got Oriam [in Edinburgh], which is our usual base. The Czech Republic had the first crack at it and the Croatians have taken St. Andrews, which would have been a good facility for us too. There might be a lot of hype at home. But I think being away from it, being detached, will benefit us in terms of preparation and making sure we are ready for the matches.
Scotland are the fourth-seeded team in a really tough group. Do you have a target where your side can finish?
We are not going to the Euros just to play the group games – we want to get out of the group. We want to be the first Scotland team to get to the knockout stages of a major tournament. That would be fantastic.