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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
Sport
Alan Galindo

Scotland's World Cup disappointment won't ruin really good squad spirit insists Steve Clarke

Steve Clarke insists there is no chance of last week's World Cup play-off disappointment upsetting the harmony in the Scotland squad.

The Dark Blues lost out 3-1 to Ukraine in the semi-final in front of a packed Hampden crowd.

The Scots were on an eight-game unbeaten run prior to the defeat, and while there was disappointment in the camp after missing out on Qatar 2022, Clarke is adamant his players can set about generating fresh momentum.

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The Nations League takes centre stage with Scotland facing Armenia in their first game of the section.

Speaking ahead of the game, Clarke said: "It's always good when we get together as a group. We've built a really good spirit among the squad.

"Everyone enjoys being away together. One defeat's not going to change that."

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Scotland face Armenia home and away and a trip to Dublin to face Republic of Ireland during this international break.

Clarke continued: "It's just a normal process.

"We've all been involved in the professional game a long time - some longer than others - and you have to learn to deal with the disappointments.

"Not everything's going to be great for you. You have to take the knocks and move on."

Clarke is not expecting a straightforward game against an Armenia side who bounced back from their 9-0 friendly defeat by Norway in March when they defeated Ireland 1-0 on Saturday.

He added: "I thought Armenia were good at the weekend.

"I watched the game live. You could see they had maybe suffered a little bit from their heavy friendly defeat in March.

"It took them maybe 30 minutes to settle into the game and then once they settled, they were good and they deserved their win.

"They finished ahead of North Macedonia to get promotion from League C to League B and North Macedonia are the team that knocked Italy out the World Cup so to do that is pretty decent."

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