Steve Clarke on ‘dour’ playing style, return to club management, life at Hampden and Scotland ambitions

A boss that is not successful won’t last long in his position. Likewise, one who doesn’t satisfy supporters will find themselves under a different kind of scrutiny.

Clarke’s approval rating with the Tartan Army has never been higher. The main reason for that, of course, is to do with the achievements, but there has been an entertainment value about Scotland in recent times that has helped enthuse the support.

“Nah. It’s not dour enough for me,” Clarke said when asked if he was pleased with the style of football his side were playing after a thrilling end to their World Cup qualifying campaign.

“I get labelled as a defensive coach or whatever but I don’t think that’s true and I think the team has shown in recent matches that if you have the players on the pitch you can play in a way that’s pleasing for everybody.

“The most important thing is always to win and if you can win with style – which is what we have been doing recently – then it’s a great thing.

“And I think it’s captured the imagination of a new generation of Scotland supporters which is probably the biggest achievement of the whole year.”

The accusations over Clarke’s approach to the game are nothing new. In his last club job at Kilmarnock and the first years of his time at Scotland, there was weight behind the argument.

It is a matter of necessity at times, though. It is one thing to dare to dream and profess ideologies, but it is Clarke’s pragmatism that has taken Scotland forward.

“It doesn’t bother me,” Clarke said. “People can put a label on me if they like.

“I know how I like my teams to play, I know we set up. I think first and foremost your job as a football coach or a head coach is to win matches and how you do that will be determined by the quality of player you’ve got.

“With the fact we can win matches and play attractive football is down to the quality of the players.”

The way in which a team operates can be influenced by the manager, but it is ultimately determined by those that make up the side and pull on the jerseys.

There has been an evolution to the national squad over Clarke’s tenure. He has landed one aim by leading Scotland to the European Championships this summer and can be enthusiastic about what this group can achieve going forward.

“It’s a good place to be but the most important part for me, and we speak about this quite a lot as a group, is to stay humble,” Clarke said.

“Always respect your opponents and just work as hard as you can to be as good as you can be. If this group of players can stick together, it’s a group of players which has expanded over the period of time. We had a good core and a good depth to the squad.

“We lost Grant Hanley to injury and Scott McTominay to injury and we brought in John Souttar at centre-back and John ended up writing his own fairytale in the Denmark game.

“So the pool of players is good and expanding all the time. We need to just continue to work and be humble. Work hard and try and keep the Tartan Army happy. If we can do that we’ll be doing alright.”

That ambition was realised at Hampden this year. For all the uncertainty and heartache the nation had suffered as a result of Covid, the Euros offered an escape as well as hope for the future.

Clarke won’t celebrate his third anniversary in charge until next May. As he reflects on a remarkable 2020, he can bank some satisfaction and expect some excitement.

“I wasn’t too sure when I came in how the job would be,” Clarke said. “I had only ever worked in club management before and I had limited experience of international football as a player.

“So like most jobs and most things I do I went with a very open mind.

“The first year, the first part of the job, wasn’t quite as smooth as I thought It would be. There was a lot of downs, but you live and learn from that.

“Have I had enough fulfilment from the job? Yeah, I think taking the country to a first major finals in 20 odd years was a good thing to be part of.

“I think we have improved as a squad, we have improved as a team and I still think there is more improvement to come – which for me is quite exciting as a coach.”

The coming months will provide Clarke with the opportunity to take Scotland back to a World Cup and to give the nation another shot in the arm amid the ongoing woes of the pandemic.

In time, a different kind of opening may arrive for the 58-year-old. Would a return to club management hold an appeal in the long run?

Clarke said: “As long as you report it as ‘way down the line…’ You never know what’s going to happen in football.

“It’s an ever changing game and there is probably a period if you go to the back of the Euros and then the trip to Denmark, which didn’t go so well for us, then you feel the pressure coming.

“It is a very very short term mentality now in football. You see it when you lose two or three games and immediately come under pressure.

“I don’t look too far ahead, I am enjoying the job at the moment as the head coach of the Scotland national team and we will see what happens in the future.”

In August, Clarke would commit himself to his country once again as he signed a new contract that will keep him in situ at Hampden until after the European Championships in 2024.

The World Cup is his next box to tick. There are black marks on his record, but they are increasingly outnumbered.

“I think they should as well,” Clarke said when it was suggested that the Scottish FA board fully back him. “I think they should if you look at the job we have done.

“Me and my coaching staff have shown that the men’s national team is improving; it’s going in the right direction. I think you would have to be a very harsh remit to say otherwise.”

Ukraine and then Wales or Austria will stand in Scotland’s way early next year as Clarke seeks to guide his side to play-off success and earn a place at first World Cup in more than two decades.

In June, Nations League section B1- where Ukraine, the Republic of Ireland and Armenia await – will begin. If Scotland can maintain their upward trajectory, a place in pool two could be their reward sooner rather than later.

“We’re getting closer,” Clarke said. “We are working towards that and the Nations League draw is interesting.

“We’ve got different teams to play against. Armenia we have never faced before so that will be good and the nature of the Nations League is good because you are playing against teams on a similar level to you.

“It should be a very competitive group and hopefully we can improve enough to finish top of that group. If we can we can make another step forward.”