Scotland reaction: Steve Clarke tells it straight on bravery, has say on red card call and makes 'burst' claim

The result represented a promising start to the latest bid to reach a World Cup and means Scotland head to Hungary where they play Belarus on Monday night in good heart.

Among Clarke’s brave calls were playing two strikers in the shape of Lyndon Dykes and Che Adams and keeping faith with Grant Hanley at centre half. He also left out Billy Gilmour in favour of Lewis Ferguson and did not turn to Ben Gannon-Doak, who many had expected to start, until ten minutes from the end. Few, if anyone, could have predicted the starting XI but Clarke was vindicated in the final analysis.

Commended for his bravery afterwards, he replied: “But that’s my job as head coach - to make these calls. You have to look at the game, you have to look at the opposition and you have to decide what might be the best way to help the players to get the result. If I’m not brave I might as well not be in the job.”

He applauded the strong defensive display, with Angus Gunn, despite not having played for his new club Nottingham Forest yet this season, showing up well in goal.

“If you don’t concede goals, you don’t lose games,” said Clarke. “That’s always been a good starting point for any coach. I think you saw the performance of John Souttar and Grant Hanley in the middle of the defence but everyone defensively, the whole team defensively, everyone did their work. The two strikers ran themselves into the ground and then later in the game when you bring other players into the game they bring a little more energy to see you through the 95 minutes or whatever it was. Everyone has to be disciplined, everyone has to do their job properly, and tonight we had that.”

Gunn ‘was good’ for Scotland

On Gunn specifically, he added: “He was good tonight, Angus. Obviously it was a difficult situation for him. I obviously spoke about if people train well, especially with goalkeepers, only one can play in that position. If you are an outfield player there’s a chance you can play in a different position. But goalkeepers have to be ready. Even if they are not starting for their club, they still have to be prepared. I said to the players before the game that the goalkeeper will need to make two or three saves to get us the result. Angus did that. He was very assured.”

Clarke admitted he was worried when the referee Daniel Siebert was sent to the monitor to check a handball against Max Johnston, who had only just replaced Aaron Hickey. The player was booked but VAR officials offered Siebert the chance to upgrade his decision to a red, when there was still 20 minutes left. Unusually, he stuck with his original decision, a stance Clarke admired.

“Yes, just a little bit,” he replied, when asked if there was concern on the touchline. “We’d had a look. Obviously it came off his arm really high up and then you could see quite clearly there was a little nudge in the back. As the referee told me, not a big enough nudge to be a push but certainly big enough to make the ball hit Max’s arm. I thought the referee was very strong with that decision. It was strong refereeing.”

Clarke revealed there was little signs of visible emotion in the away-dressing room afterwards despite such a creditable start. He did, however, sense some quiet satisfaction. “It was quiet because they are tired,” said the manager. “They came off the pitch, they are all burst. They have not got a lot left. It is pretty quiet at the end of a game like that. They know, they know… I have a very experienced group of players with a young underbelly who hopefully will come through and be the next generation for Scotland. They know, they have given everything and there is still a long way to go.”

Clarke looked forward to Monday night’s behind-doors clash with Belarus, who lost 5-1 to Greece in Athens in their first qualifier. “The first thing we have to do is respect Belarus and respect the conditions of the game which will be behind closed doors and totally different from tonight where even the opposition crowd gives you the momentum to keep going,” he said.

“Obviously we could hear the Tartan Army all night and that gives the players that incentive when they are starting to flag physically. So it’s a different scenario going to Hungary to play Belarus behind closed doors. What we have to do is approach the game in the same manner and with the same intensity.”