SEEING Scotland get outclassed, outpassed, outthought and outfought by England for much of the 150th Anniversary Heritage match at Hampden on Tuesday night drove home to Steve Clarke that work remains to be done to reach the Euro 2024 finals.
Tartan Army footsoldiers from Durness to Dumfries might have started booking their flights to and accommodation in Germany next summer after the final whistle blew in their Group A win over Cyprus in Larnaca last Friday night.
Clarke has spent long enough in the game as a player, a coach, an assistant manager and a manager, though, to release that nothing in football should ever be taken for granted.
He was, despite Andy Robertson winning their first five qualifiers and establishing a seemingly unassailable lead at the top of Group A with three matches remaining, never under any illusions about the task ahead.
The 60-year-old appreciates that if there is a repeat of the disappointing performance in Mount Florida in midweek when his charges play Spain in the Estadio de la Cartuja in Seville on October 12 then another loss will be suffered and qualification will not look such a foregone conclusion.
The meeting between second-placed Spain and third-placed Norway in Oslo three days later could, if the hosts lose or are held to a draw, seal things for Scotland without them kicking a ball. Still, Clarke is wary.
“The England game was a friendly, but it was, let’s be honest, a sore friendly to lose,” he said. “Still, it puts a sense of realism back into people. Not me, because I had it anyway. I know what we are trying to do - we are trying to qualify for the second tournament out of three since I became head coach.
“We are on the right path for that, but we still haven’t crossed the line. So let’s take lessons from Tuesday night, take them into next month’s competitive game in Spain and another tough friendly against France away.
“The boys are not as level headed as me because I think that’s impossible. But they understand. They understand that Tuesday night wasn’t a good performance. They understand that if we go to Spain and we play like that we will lose again. We have to be better.
“They know that. They understand that if we want to get the points to qualify in Spain then we have to play much better than we did on Tuesday night. Maybe the nitty gritty of the group will come down to the November games (against Georgia away and Norway at home).
“Spain are a good team. When they came here, maybe we caught them on and off night. Obviously they went to Georgia and had a good result last week and then got another good result against Cyprus at home this week. They won comfortably so they are looking after their goal difference. But if we go there and compete well I think we can still get something from the game.”
Clarke was given hope for the future by one showing from a group of players wearing dark blue jerseys this week.
He watched the Scotland Under-21 side play their Spanish counterparts in the Estadio de La Victoria in Jaen on Monday night and was, despite the narrow 1-0 defeat they suffered, impressed by many of the players’ displays.
Not least that of Ben Doak. He would like to see the winger get more game time at Liverpool before calling him up to the senior squad and is wary about demanding too much of a lad who is still, despite the rave reviews he has been receiving, just 17. But if the youngster is, as looks likely, handed a run by Jurgen Klopp team in the coming weeks he will have no qualms about promoting him.
“Anybody who watched the under-21 game on Monday night, and I did watch it, could see he is really good,” he said. “In the first half, I thought he was really good. In the second half he didn’t get in the game quite so much.
He is a young man learning the game. I think going away and playing against Spain Under-21s away and being one of the highlights of the game is good for him. I was actually quite pleased with quite a lot of the young boys. I thought they did well, they competed well with Spain.
“So you look down and think, ‘Yeah, we can continue to improve’ That is what we are trying to do. Let’s just see how things pan out. He is a young man, he is a very exciting talent, but sometimes you have to let them grow a bit.”
Clarke added: “I think a squad should always be a work in progress. Because otherwise you end up with everybody growing old together. So your squad should always be a work in progress. You are always looking to see how you can improve, whether that is from the pool of personnel I have got at the moment or adding one or two to the current pool.
“We want to qualify for the next tournament and the next one and the next one and the next one. We don’t want to go through a run of 20 years where we are not qualifying for tournaments again. The evolution of the squad is important.”
Clarke was as devastated as any supporter at the events of Tuesday night. But he returned to his home in England yesterday satisfied with the three points which Scotland picked up against Cyprus last week and determined to consign the England loss to the past by getting a result against Spain next month and securing Euro 2024 qualification.
“Nobody likes to lose football matches,” he said. “We are all disappointed. I didn’t go home last night with a big smile on my face, I went home and sulked. Because that’s what I do. I don’t like getting beat and they don’t like getting beat.
“I always go home with my head held high. If I feel I have done my job properly and I have prepared the team properly and I have picked an honest team which I thought was the right team to pick for the game then why would I close the curtains and avoid the neighbours. If they come to the door though they might get a grumpy answer.”
