Visitors to the cafe at Hampden Park on Wednesday lunchtime were treated to footage of the way we were. A rerun of Scotland’s 2-0 win against Spain in March last year was being shown on multiple screens. Misty watercolour memories. Spain have not tasted defeat since. Scotland will kick off their Nations League campaign against Poland on Thursday on a run of one victory in 12 – against Gibraltar – and with the fallout from a miserable Euro 2024 reverberating from Wick to Wigtownshire.
Twelve years ago, Craig Levein wandered into the conservatory of a Brussels hotel remarking to the Scottish Football Association’s head of communications that the surroundings were rather plush. “Too nice for this lot,” Levein said. His target was a Scottish press pack, with whom relations had become toxic.
Scotland duly lost to Belgium, their World Cup qualifying campaign over after four games, and Levein lost his job. Steve Clarke finds himself about to start a run which feels make or break, primarily in respect of public perception. Promotion to Group A – Portugal and Croatia also lie in wait – epitomised Scotland’s upward trajectory but now carries grave danger.
Clarke lacks the confrontational approach of Levein. So far, at least. It was a nervous, unsure manager who faced the media to preview the visit of Robert Lewandowski and co. The high of Spain feels an eternity ago. The inference is that Clarke believes criticism over Scotland’s performances in Germany, where they collected one point from three matches, was unduly harsh. The manager lives in England, which shielded him from a ferocious backlash north of the border after Scotland floundered at the European Championship. There really was palpable anger.
“We felt our country right behind us in the summer and we get that they are disappointed,” the captain, Andy Robertson, said. “Now it is up to us to try and drag them along with us again. It is up to us to try and show on the pitch that we are willing to fight, we are willing to win games, we are willing to put in the hard yards. If we do that, then we know our fans will come with us as well, because we know they love supporting Scotland.
“We saw that in the summer. I think the German people absolutely loved them and we want that again. We felt the love in the summer, and of course we were all disappointed by the end, but it is up to us to try and feel the love again.”
Levein’s point of no return in the eyes of the Tartan Army came with deployment of a 4-6-0 formation against the Czech Republic. Scotland’s lack of aggression and attacking intent against Hungary in their final Euro 2024 game drew similar derision. For managers, perception rapidly morphs into reality. Clarke, unfairly, is viewed by some as dour and one-dimensional.
It is Clarke who has raised standards to the point where tournament football, once an unattainable dream, has been achieved twice in three attempts. “For me, it’s been a long summer and I look forward to the game and see what we get from the players,” Clarke said. “I’m sure we will get a good reaction.” A glance at Clarke’s personnel supplies key mitigating factors. Scotland lack depth of talent at anywhere close to the top level. Whether an impatient public care is another matter.
“For these six games across the next three windows, it’s probably correct to say that we can use them to try and make sure that when we get to the World Cup qualifying games, we understand where we are,” Clarke said. “What we can do as a squad and how successful we can be as a squad. That’s what we have to look towards.”
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Circumstances that may not be relevant in isolation have been pieced together to add to the sense of unease. Graeme Jones, the Scottish FA’s performance director and a key ally of Clarke, will soon depart for Heart of Midlothian. Clarke rejected a report stating Che Adams chose to remain in Italy to become more accustomed to life at Torino rather than feature in these matches. “There was an official email from Torino saying that he had injuries that he picked up in the games, thigh and knee,” Clarke said. “They asked for him to be withdrawn.”
The Celtic duo, James Forrest and Greg Taylor, also pulled out. Forrest had spoken positively about his fitness immediately after the Old Firm game on Sunday. James Morrison has departed Scotland’s coaching staff after only a year. His replacement, Alan Irvine, means the top three men in this setup are aged 60 or over.
From such trivialities a crisis can quickly emerge. Clarke’s Scotland need to use the Poland fixture to prove they are capable of penning another happy tale.