Scotland coach Steve Clarke on the fans, qualification and his principles – interview
Tuesday, June 4, 2024
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"We have managed to re-engage with the Tartan Army," says coach Steve Clarke as Scotland prepare for a second straight EURO.
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Steve Clarke failed to make the cut as a player when Scotland qualified for back-to-back EURO tournaments in 1992 and 1996 but he has made up for lost time since becoming coach of his country in 2019.
The former Chelsea stalwart helped end Scotland's 24-year wait for another crack at the finals when he led them, via the play-offs, to UEFA EURO 2020. They were even more impressive in cruising through qualifying for the current edition, with a 2-0 success at home to Spain setting the tone.
On the Tartan Army and his relationship with the fans
They are a reflection of the Scottish people. They want to be good ambassadors when they go away, they want people to love them. The dress is probably unique, makes them stand out a little bit and people are curious. As the head coach of the national team now, we're very appreciative of the support that the Tartan Army gives us.
I think to have been part of the journey over the last four and a bit years, one of the things that we've managed to do is get the country back on side, we have managed to re-engage with the Tartan Army. I think what the Scottish supporter always wants to see from their team is when they go on to the pitch, they're competitive. They don't necessarily demand that you have to win, but I think they demand that you have to be competitive. And what we've got now is a very competitive group who want to do as well as they can for their country every single time. The Tartan Army can see that, they can smell it, so they understand that we are a group they should support.
On the qualifying campaign
I think the best one to go back to is the March game against Spain at Hampden. That night it clicked. The Tartan Army were there, they were expectant. We scored very early in the game, which gave everybody energy in the stadium. We managed to build on that with an early goal in the second half and it was for us as good a performance as we'd had in a long time.
For the supporters that were there, it was probably as good a night as they had had at Hampden for a long time. When we finished that game, it meant we had finished with six points in the first two games and left the stadium that night pretty confident that we would qualify, because you know when you produce a big result against one of the Pot 1 teams that you're going to carry that confidence into the next few matches and that's exactly what we did.
On building a team
There's definitely a range of talent, but I think I can take some of the credit for weaving them together and making them work. I think the most important people in that are the people who are playing at the top, top end. What we've managed to develop, during my time in charge, is the kind of feeling that everyone is equal. They all leave their egos to one side. When we work together as a team it doesn't matter if you're playing for one of the Scottish Premiership, English Championship or top end of the English Premier League teams. When you come to Scotland, you're part of the Scottish national squad and we're together and I think that's something we've worked on developing. It's something that's carried us to where we are now.
On his key principles as a coach
Just be true to yourself, be honest with your players, be as honest as you can be, sometimes you have to be slightly less than completely honest but be as honest as you can be. Explain every decision and just treat them as human beings, not necessarily just as top footballers. Remember there's a person in there as well that needs to be looked after at the same time as the footballer. There are many different ways to get success and hopefully people realise that and understand that there are different ways to get success.
On Scotland's EURO objectives
The best way to look at the upcoming tournament is just to say that as long as we prepare as well as we can prepare, we go to the pitch and play as well as we can against whatever level of opponent we play against. As long as we can do that and compete as well as we can, we can leave the tournament with our head held high no matter whether we go out in the group stages or we get to the later stages. If we do everything right and we give ourselves the best possible chance of success, then that will do for me.
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