STEVE Clarke set his sights last night on the four points from a possible nine against Group I big guns Belgium and Russia which he feels would transform our hopes of automatic qualification for Euro 2020 – then said he hoped the manner of his team’s performance in Brussels on Tuesday might just convince any refuseniks out there to sign up to the cause.
Thanks to previous manager Alex McLeish, the national team already have a home play-off semi-final spot – most likely against Finland - to look forward to in March 2020. That still seems our likeliest route of reaching our first major finals since France 1998, but Clarke feels it is all still to play for in what is sure to be a pivotal period in the battle for an automatic spot.
Both Russia and Belgium, who Scotland trail by three and six points respectively, are due in Glasgow in the space of three days in September, before the Scots head East to visit the Russians in mid-October. The 55-year-old from Saltcoats reckons his group of players have shown enough in the two weeks he has been working with them to go into those matches confident of keeping their qualification hopes alive - but wants to have as many players to choose from as possible.
“Listen, we’re still in it,” said Clarke. “We have Russia at home, Belgium at home then Russia away. We probably need four points minimum to get something from the group. So why not?
“Let’s go there with a little bit of positivity, hope everyone’s fit and well, hope that I pick the right squads and right teams!” he added. “I think you saw in Belgium that this group of players are definitely going to give it a go.”
While Clarke named a bigger than usual squad for the June double header, there were still some notable absentees. The likes of West Ham’s Robert Snodgrass and Sheffield United’s John Fleck had weddings arranged, and there was no sign of Steven Fletcher and Matt Ritchie either. While none of the above would walk back into the team, the Scotland manager hopes that the positivity around the camp feeds back to them and encourages them to make themselves available.
“If the feeling the players have got for myself and my staff that I brought in for the work that we did, if they’ve got the same feeling I’ve got for them, then hopefully they’ll be phoning round their friends and their colleagues and saying ‘Listen, it’s not too bad in camp now, the camp was good, the sessions were organised, the messages given were clear.’ If they’ve taken all that on board then hopefully we can improve the squad moving forward.
“I think you want as many good players as possible available to make my job for selection as hard as it can possibly be," he added. "That’s the nature of the job. I want every good player who wants to play for Scotland. I want them fit and available in August for when I pick my squad for the next two games.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here