STEVE Clarke tonight expressed confidence that Scotland’s delayed flight to Portugal and marathon bus journey to Lisbon would not have an adverse impact on the national side’s performance in their Nations League game against the former European champions tonight.
Clarke was nearly two hours late for his pre-match press conference at the Estadio da Luz this evening after the squad’s charter plane was late taking off from Glasgow Airport due to a baggage carousel problem.
Scotland, who lost their opening Group A1 match to Poland 3-2 at Hampden on Thursday evening, flew to Beja Airport, which is over 100 miles from Lisbon, and then took over two hours to make their way to the capital.
Clarke is attempting to resurrect the country’s fortunes after their disappointing showing at the Euro 2024 finals in Germany this summer – they finished bottom of Group A and failed to reach the last 16 – and will have his work cut out overseeing a result against Roberto Martinez’s men this evening.
However, the former Newcastle United, Chelsea and Liverpool assistant is optimistic his men will be able to produce a display the Tartan Army can be proud of in the stadium where Scotland suffered an infamous 5-0 defeat in a World Cup qualifier back in 1993 despite their travel issues.
Clarke made light of the delay – he stated he thought the airport was in Spain – when he spoke to the media in Lisbon.
But he admitted that he was unsure why the SFA had arranged for his charges to take such a circuitous route to their destination and stressed that he would speak to his employers about it following the match against Portugal tomorrow night.
“It is something for me to discuss with the powers that be after this trip,” he said. “I have to focus on the game coming up. To be honest I can’t afford to think about it just now. But it is something we have to look at. But we are here now so let’s just crack on with the football.
“It is a quick turnaround, but we have got a good group of players and they will be fresh and ready to go. The only thing about it is the lads will be having their dinner in the hotel now and I am sitting here starving. The only downside apart from the length of time it took us to get here is the fact they are having their dinner later.”
An SFA official last night stated that many visiting national teams who play Portugal in Lisbon choose to fly to Beja Airport because more landing slots for charter flights are available.
Bournemouth playmaker Ryan Christie was adamant the delay would not be an issue for him or his team mates when they face Cristiano Ronaldo and his compatriots in the Nations League this evening.
“I am fine, to be honest,” he said. “I have not found it too bad. As a boy from Inverness I used to have to travel to Glasgow for four hours for a game on Saturday. I have had it worse. I do not think it will hinder us too much.”
