Steve Clarke said Scotland’s surprise performance in their 2-1 win over Belarus in a World Cup qualifier was the most disappointing he has felt since taking charge of the national team.
It was a momentous night for Clarke at Hampden Park as he took charge of the national team for a record 72nd time, and it all looked positive when striker Che Adams scored after 15 minutes, but the home side failed to get going.
Belarus had a second-half goal disallowed for a foul on Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay before the Napoli star scored in the 84th minute with a shot from 10 yards.
But Belarusian substitute Hleb Kuchko’s stoppage-time goal brought more tension back to the otherwise unimpressed Tartan Army and some booing was heard throughout.
However, home wins over Greece and Belarus this month mean Scotland have 10 points alongside leaders Denmark, securing a top two spot as they prepare to travel to already eliminated Greece and host Denmark next month to conclude the campaign.
“I’m really disappointed, really disappointed,” said Clarke, whose side now need just two wins to qualify for the World Cup.
“It’s probably as frustrating as I’ve been for 72 games. We didn’t show up.
“But before I go down that road and you start asking me questions about why I feel like this, it’s also to point out that a performance doesn’t qualify you. And tonight was certainly not a performance.”
“But we got three points, which is six points from the two headers, so we’re really happy with that, as everyone with a Scottish connection would be.
“But the performance was far below par.
“It’s a head scratcher”
Scotland did not lose in the third group
“It’s surprising,” Clark continued. “But I’ll go away, take a look, and we’ll analyze it.”
“We will look at what we need to do better and how we can be more cohesive as a team without the ball.
“And how we have to be better as a team when we have the ball.
“I told them in the dressing room, so they knew what my feelings were.
“But I have a lot of faith in them and I have complete confidence in them. I know they’ll be a different animal next month.”
“Why would the players be nervous?”
Scotland player Che Adams celebrates after scoring a goal against Belarus
Asked if nerves played a role, the former Reading, West Brom and Kilmarnock coach said: “They can’t be nervous. Why are they nervous? Most of them have played in big matches before.”
“I don’t think you can blame it on nerves. If it’s nerves, I think I’ll need to talk to a doctor.”
Despite securing three more points before the 2026 North American finals next summer, the Tartan Army expressed their frustration at the end of the match.
“This seems to be the way of the modern game,” Clark said. “Everything now is instantaneous. Everyone has an opinion in the first minute of the game, the 10th minute of the game, the 20th minute.”
“Everyone has a different opinion depending on how the game goes.
He added: “If the fans were disappointed with the performance tonight, they should take some comfort in the fact that the manager was disappointed too.”
“It doesn’t feel like a win.”
Scott McTominay celebrates with Kieran Tierney after scoring the goal to make it 2-0
Scotland captain Andy Robertson was equally critical of his team’s performance against Belarus.
“I don’t feel good,” he said. BBC Scotland.
“We can be honest about that. It doesn’t feel like a win at the moment and I think you can see that in our reaction at the end which is very disappointing. The performance is nowhere near where we want it to be.
“At the start of the week we had the six points and we can look back at November where we are (and be happy with it) but coming off the pitch right now I don’t feel good.”
“We gave them a lot of chances. I don’t know if we were tired from Thursday night, we gave a lot in that game, but that’s no excuse.”
“We weren’t good on or off the ball, and at times we performed well. We could have had a couple more chances, with a little better decision-making.”
“It’s a very disappointing night. We felt it in the stands. I didn’t quite understand it on Thursday but I understand it tonight. We’ll take that into account, but come November we have a chance to go to the World Cup and that’s what we’re focusing on.”
McGinn sees the “wild” side of Clark
Please use Chrome browser for an easily accessible video player
Following his side’s win over Belarus in a World Cup qualifier, John McGinn revealed Steve Clarke’s wild talk to the team at half-time.
Meanwhile, John McGinn saw a “wild” side to Clarke that he had never seen before as Scotland struggled in the manager’s record-breaking 72nd match.
“At halftime, deservedly, it was the most violent I’ve seen it in 72 games,” McGinn said. “But it was great not only for me, but for the country and the group.
He added, “I think he has a lot of matches to play so far. It’s a big achievement, but he’s really angry. But he got us once again into a great position in the qualifying group. We can’t forget that.”
Clark received a wave of applause from his players for his achievement when he returned to the locker room after the match, but his mood improved slightly.
“I think he was more frustrated than angry,” McGinn said. “In the break, you have things to improve and work on.
“Was the second half a little better? Probably not. We’re not naive enough to think that. But what we did was cross the line.
“We know exactly what we have to do next month, two wins and we are there.”
https://e0.365dm.com/25/10/1600×900/skysports-scotland-clarke-steve_7049302.jpg?20251012200218
Source link