'Steve Clarke critics live in cloud cuckoo land - why I won't rule Scotland out of qualifying for World Cup'
Scotland head coach Steve Clarke has come under pressure in recent months.
Scotland head coach Steve Clarke is more than capable of leading the nation to next summer’s World Cup and sacking him would be the wrong decision, according to former national team striker Kris Boyd.
Clarke has come under scrutiny in recent months after a spate of challenging results, with the team booed off the field at Hampden on Friday following their dismal 3-1 friendly defeat to Iceland.
Scotland improved on Monday evening as they rounded off their international break with a comfortable 4-0 win over Liechtenstein in Vaduz, and ex-Rangers hitman Boyd believes supporters now need a period of reflection as he urged them to keep calm ahead of the start of upcoming World Cup qualifiers in September.
“You become a victim of your own success,” said Boyd, who scored seven goals in 18 appearances for Scotland. “That’s where Scotland are right now. It used to be we were down in the dumps, and everything was doom and gloom. It was just negativity. For a period of time, that had changed after [qualifying for] back-to-back Euros. People thought Scotland had more players down in England making up the squad, there were in the Championship and the bottom end of the Premier League.
“We now have players that are winning the English Premier League, Serie A and other trophies in Italy. The level of player within the environment is used to winning. But then the expectation is there as well, everyone expects you to just replicate your club form. I’ll be honest, I think they’ve probably overachieved in that period of time, over the last few years, but take nothing away from this group of players.
“It is maybe time to sit back and reflect. We are quite quick to jump on the manager and have a go at him, but this group of players and the manager probably overachieved. For me, Scotland will be ready for the World Cup qualifiers, and they’ll see it as an opportunity to kick on. The players will be recharged and refreshed. I wouldn’t rule this group of players out of qualifying, they’ve done it before. There’s something in this group.”
A run of just one home win from their last nine games has led some Tartan Army fans to call for change at the top, with Clarke coming under some pressure after the Nations League playoff defeat against Greece in March - and the heat was dialled up a notch when Iceland swept aside his Scotland team with ease on Friday.
Some have mentioned ex-Celtic title winning manager Ange Postecoglou as a potential candidate following his shock sacking from Tottenham Hotspur last week. However, Boyd believes those Scotland supporters looking to poach the Europa League winning boss as a replacement for Clarke are living in a fantasy land.
“If there is someone better than Steve Clarke out there, tell me who it is?” laughed Boyd. “Then you can put a case forward for replacing him. Does he need to start getting results? Of course does, he knows that as well. People are talking about Ange Postecoglou. I mean, seriously? Give me peace.
“The guy has just done what he has done [won the Europa League with Spurs], and will walk into plenty of jobs worldwide - it is not an easy club to go and get success at. There’s no way he’s going to be the next Scotland manager. People live in cloud cuckoo land half the time. If you go and find a better than manager than Steve Clarke that can manage the Scotland national team, then I’ll listen to you.”
Kris Boyd was celebrating the latest free wave of McDonald’s Fun Football sessions this Summer, available to all children aged 5-11 across the UK. You can sign up now for your nearest free session at mcdonalds.co.uk/football
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