THERE are some wrongs that the Scotland squad and manager Steve Clarke have been wanting to put right. In fact, they have been driven by the desire to do so.
They have managed the first of those objectives, according to Ryan Jack. The Rangers midfielder was one of the heroes of Serbia, when Scotland finally consigned over two decades of qualification failure to the past. The only problem was, there was no one there to see it.
No Tartan Army. No jubilant scenes in the stands. No Scotland fans, no party, you might say. Though, in fairness, the players famously gave it a good shot back at the team hotel in any case.
This time around, Scotland were able to not only take a victory lap at a packed Hampden, but they could extend it over the final two games of their campaign, having sealed qualification to next summer’s European Championships with a good bit to spare.
So, with that nagging itch finally scratched, the next step is to put the lessons learned from what turned out to be a disappointing crack at the tournament itself last time out into practice, and maybe even go where no Scotland team has gone before, and into the knockout stages.
“I think for the group and the coaching staff and the group of players, the main part of the squad has been together for a good number of years, so that experience will definitely help going forwards,” Jack said.
“Hopefully whatever we think went wrong in the last tournament we can put right this tournament.
“It’s nice for players and fans [to celebrate qualification] together, even the coaching staff. All the people behind the scenes who do all the dirty work.
“They’re not the ones out on the pitch every game but to be together it was good to do a lap, and good for the supporters because we didn’t get that last time.
“In Serbia we didn’t really get the chance in an empty stadium with no fans. We obviously had it ourselves behind closed doors in the hotel when we had a few drinks and whatever. It was great to be a part of it and hopefully there are a lot more celebrations to come going forwards.
“Hopefully we can continue [to be successful] and hopefully it gives the supporters something to look forward to in the summer.”
Jack of course, having helped Scotland crash through that glass ceiling of qualifying for a major tournament, was heartbreakingly ruled out of the championships themselves through injury.
Another wrong he wishes to right – fitness permitting, of course – is to ensure that this time, he takes his place in manager Clarke’s 23-man squad.
He has found starts hard to come by in a hugely competitive Scotland midfield of late, but he is desperate to show that he can remain an important cog in Clarke’s well-oiled machine.
“It’s a great squad,” he said.
“A lot of the boys who come away - including myself - don’t play every minute and don’t play every game, but all the boys who come away all play a massive part behind the scenes training and preparing for games, doing everything right.
“Everyone knows their role and it’s not always the same players. But you’re part of a great squad and that’s the joys of having strength in depth.
“If you don’t play, it shows how strong the squad actually is. At your club level you need to be at it, you need to be playing regular and well and hopefully that puts you in a good place for coming away.
“It’s why we all want to come away and why you want to be a part of this. The main focus and aim as a player and staff is you want to be a part of a major tournament with the country.”
There is a lot of football to be played before he can achieve that goal. But while Jack’s focus now will return to Rangers and the huge demands that come with playing for the Ibrox club, realising that dream will never be far from his thoughts.
“There’s no way you can just go away and forget you’ve done it,” he said.
“It’ll always be in the back of your mind. There are a lot of games and there’s a lot of football to play before then.
“I don’t think you get the time to process it straight away. We all leave after the game and go back to our clubs and you’re straight back into your club action. Everyone is so busy at their clubs then you come back in March and that’s when it’ll hit home and we'll prepare with the games we have in March.
“Obviously, I’m delighted to be a part of this and hopefully there’s more to come.
“The manager says it after every camp. He touched on it again after the game against Norway. He said to go back to your club, stay fit, stay healthy and play well and that’s all everyone can do moving forwards.”
