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After a tense and nervous 2-1 victory over Belarus at Hampden last month, the standard procedure for Steve Clarke would have been to shield his Scotland players from the barrage of criticism.
Normally very measured with his words and protective of those under his command, Clarke has always tended to shield his players and throw an arm around them any time they come under flak.
But this was different. After watching his team labor to a deeply unconvincing victory against a team ranked 100th in the world, Clarke decided to open fire.
Describing the performance as one of the worst of his six-and-a-half-year reign as manager, Clarke admitted that his team simply did not turn up.
It was a rare show of emotion and anger from a manager renowned for being so stony-faced. The players had been given both barrels by a man who is generally loyal to a fault.
They had no real time to digest Clarke’s words as they all headed back to their respective clubs. Meeting up again earlier this week, it’s only now that they have a chance to show a positive reaction.
Steve Clarke was not impressed with his side in the win over Belarus… and he let them know it
Scott McTominay’s goal proved crucial but the performance was little to get excited about
Belarus drew level in the second half and continued to cause panic until the final whistle
Scott McKenna was in the team that night against Belarus and played the full 90 minutes. As someone who has been there right from the start under Clarke, he had never seen the manager so animated.
But McKenna believes it was a blast that was completely deserved, given the paucity of what Scotland served up in such an important match.
Indeed, McKenna would argue that Clarke’s typically reserved nature ensured the outburst hit even harder among the players.
‘After that last game against Belarus, we dispersed pretty quickly. We all left that night and went back to our clubs,’ said the 29-year-old centre-back, who now plies his trade for Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia.
But I think the manager was pretty strong in his words after the game and made it clear to everyone that the performance was well below the expected levels.
I think there have been times in the past where the standards have dropped, but he has remained positive and reassuring.
“Whereas in the last camp, in the Belarus game especially, we were so far off the performance levels expected that we almost needed a wake-up call.
“We got the three points and it keeps the campaign alive, but he realizes how big the opportunity is that we have.”
Scott McKenna insists Scotland will benefit from the wake-up call from their manager
‘By saying what he said, he doesn’t want us to recreate that sort of performance that ultimately costs us the chance to go to a World Cup.
‘He was absolutely spot-on with everything he said to us — and it was probably needed. It was a wake-up call for us, that’s for sure. Hopefully that can work going into these two huge games against Greece and Denmark.’
McKenna has won 46 caps for Scotland, the majority of which have come since Clarke took charge of the national team in 2019.
The manager has spoken openly about how this is likely to be his last hurrah as Scotland bid to qualify for a World Cup for the first time since 1998.
Given the bond and loyalty that exists between the players and the manager, McKenna insists there is a desire to give him a fitting send-off next summer.
‘I think the gaffer’s been so loyal to all of us in his time in charge here,’ said the former Aberdeen man.
There have been times, myself included, where some of us have not been playing at the club level, but he continues to put us in the squad and trusts us and gives us minutes on the park.
He also led us to two Euros, so we’ve all got to be thankful to him. Our performances on the pitch are the only way we can really thank him for that, and trying to qualify for a World Cup would be a great way to do it.
Scotland players applaud the home support at Hampden following the 2-1 victory over Belarus
‘For the fans as well. They follow us everywhere and spend a lot of money. We would love to repay them for that support.’
Back in 2018, and in what was only his fourth cap, McKenna captained Scotland in a 1-0 friendly defeat to Mexico at The Estadio Azteca.
The iconic stadium will be one of the venues during next summer’s finals and McKenna admits it would be a dream to see such a cathedral of world football packed out with the Tartan Army.
“Going across to America, the size of the stadiums are going to be absolutely massive,” he added. They will probably be 80,000, 90,000, even 100,000 some of them.
‘They are huge. The amount of Scotland fans that will be able to get in those stadiums would be absolutely incredible.
We will obviously focus on these two games first and foremost. But obviously in the back of your mind as a player is the thought of walking out in America representing Scotland at a World Cup. We’ve all dreamed of it.’
