STEVE Clarke made it clear last night that he is expecting a reaction from the Scotland players who flopped in Kazakhstan. While the new national team manager has kept faith with no fewer than nine members of the starting line-up which were routed 3-0 in Astana back in March, he did so on the basis that he sees a hunger to put things right in the forthcoming double header against Cyprus and Belgium.
“I can’t go out and give everybody a different nationality!” said Clarke. “These are the Scottish boys, these are the boys that are here. And I’d like to think the boys that were involved in these trips will be hurting. They will want the chance to put it right. If they get the chance to put it right in the upcoming match then good. I hope you see the desire and hunger to put things right.”
For all the solace of the Euro 2020 play-off semi-final place in our back pockets, defeat in Kazakhstan, and that underwhelming 2-0 victory against San Marino, has heaped pressure on this Scotland side early in their bid to qualify as of right. While stopping short of just saying Saturday night’s home meeting with Cyprus falls into the ‘must win’ category, the 55-year-old knows that the three points could transform our fortunes.
“You never know what is going to happen in terms of points for qualification because you don't know how the other games are going to pan out, later in the group,” said Clarke. “But it would be a nice game to win.
“I don’t think there is any point in hiding away from it and trying to play it down,” he added. “It is a big game, it is my first game and I want to start with a win. Hopefully I can transmit that to the players and they will know as well. We have given ourselves a difficult start in the group and we have to try and make sure we get points in the bag as quickly as possible.”
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