SCOTLAND’S agonising defeat to Poland on Thursday night extended the recent run to one win in 13 games and intensified the pressure on Steve Clarke after a poor show at the Euros.
Whilst there were some encouraging aspects to the display, the team seems to be stuck in a rut. The prospect of taking on Portugal in Lisbon tonight in the second Nations League match would not be the manager’s assignment of choice.
Here’s Mail Sport’s John McGarry and Calum Crowe attempt to pinpoint where it’s all gone wrong and examine what’s got to happen for Clarke and the players to dig themselves out of the deep hole they are now in.
Were Scotland hard done by with the concession of such a late goal on Thursday and what, if any, were the positives against Poland?
Head coach Steve Clarke is feeling the heat after Scotland's latest defeat
Defender Grant Hanley gave away a penalty for the winning goal at Hampden on Thursday
JM: No. Defending is a fundamental part of football. When you do it so poorly, you have no right to claim that you didn’t get what you deserved. So put the violin away.
The main plus point was a 45-minute reminder of what the team can be when it’s in the groove. The intensity we saw after Billy Gilmour’s goal was encouraging. The individual performance of Scott McTominay was worthy of acclaim.
CC: No, absolutely not. When you concede three goals at home, you can have no complaints about the outcome. Scotland haven’t kept a clean sheet in a competitive game since beating Georgia 2-0 at Hampden well over a year ago.
Clarke got the job on the basis that he was a manager who prioritised defensive solidity and organisation, but that’s gone. The team are shipping goals left, right and centre. The positives were the performances of McTominay and Gilmour, as well as Ben Doak from the bench.
Could Clarke have played his cards differently and what should he change for Portugal?
JM: Notwithstanding the need to try to win the match, a little more experimentation wouldn’t have gone amiss.
The Nations League games are important but not as much as the World Cup qualifiers next year.
We could have done with seeing what Max Johnston could offer at this level. We needed to see more of Tommy Conway. Ben Doak and Ryan Gauld need to see more than the final 19 minutes in Lisbon.
CC: Clarke changed the shape to a back four against Poland, so that was a positive step in the right direction. But, for me, he got the personnel wrong. Kenny McLean shouldn’t have been in the starting XI. Instead, Clarke should have favoured an extra attacking player like a Ryan Gauld or a Ben Doak.
Many supporters would like to see young winger Ben Doak start for Scotland
Vancouver Whitecaps playmaker Ryan Gauld made an impression off the bench against Poland
They both made a big impact when they came on. At least one of them should start against Portugal. But the biggest call tonight should be dropping Grant Hanley. He’s simply not match sharp after a year blighted by injuries.
Can you make any case for us going away from home and getting a result against Portugal and Croatia in these next two games?
JM: Any point tonight would be a good one. Portugal have won their last seven games staged in Lisbon.
They were only eliminated from the Euros in the quarter-finals on penalties by France. Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 900th career goal against Croatia on Thursday. It could be a long night.
Croatia are an ageing side, so the trip to Zagreb isn’t quite as daunting.
CC: In a word, no. Such is the abundance of talent available to Portugal, Roberto Martinez could probably field a second-string team and Scotland would still be rank outsiders.
Scotland are shipping goals at an alarming rate, so any notion of them keeping Ronaldo and Co at bay feels a long way off.
I would love to be more optimistic about facing Croatia in Zagreb, but I just can’t see it.
I reckon these next two games will largely be damage limitation for Scotland.
If we don’t get a positive result in Lisbon, what do we need to see to believe the manager can turn this situation around?
JM: A performance that’s on a level with that of the second half on Thursday but without the calamitous errors.
There must be some resilience shown when Portugal pen us in. There has to be the bravery to play. Losing need not be a disgrace if we show our true selves. It’s not a night for throwing caution to the wind, but the likes of Doak must be given scope to make an appreciable impact.
CC: It’s going to be a game where Scotland will have their backs to the wall for large swathes of the 90 minutes. Showing a robustness in defence, as well as carrying a threat on the counter-attack, would go a long way to restoring a bit of faith.
The last time we faced a team of this calibre was against Germany in Munich — and we all know how that turned out. The performance that night was an embarrassment. Scotland dare not go down that road again.
The one victory in 13 aside, what’s the most concerning thing right now?
JM: The inability to eradicate individual errors. In the first five matches of the qualifiers, the team did not lose a goal from open play. They’ve conceded 31 times in the past 13 games, a consequence of lapses in concentration.
On Thursday, the main culprits at the three goals were Kenny McLean, Anthony Ralston, John McGinn and Grant Hanley, but it’s an ever-changing cast list.
CC: Aside from the costly errors and inability to keep a clean sheet, it’s the mood among fans which feels as alarming as anything else.
It was noticeable at Hampden on Thursday night that quite a lot of Poland fans had found their way into the home end. A couple of my pals are in the Tartan Army supporters’ club and they knew of quite a few Scotland fans who had sold their tickets, such was the level of disillusionment after the Euros in Germany.
Ronaldo's Portugal will be tough opponents for a Scotland team low on confidence
Do you sense that the Tartan Army are losing faith in the manager?
JM: It’s certainly dwindling although, for now, the goodwill that came from qualifying for back-to-back Euros is sustaining him. The crowd on Thursday was 46,356. Even though the sale of tickets pre-dated the Euros, it was impressive.
There were a few boos at the interval but mostly stunned silence at time-up. Questions, undoubtedly, are now being asked. Scotland fans are loyal but they are not happy clappers.
CC: Yes, without a doubt. As touched on previously, some
Scotland fans sold their tickets on Thursday night. If that doesn’t sound alarm bells about a fanbase losing faith in a manager, nothing ever will. They haven’t quite turned on Clarke yet and, given that he’s led us to two major finals, he’ll never experience the same vitriol that was aimed at the likes of Craig Levein and Berti Vogts towards the end of their tenures. But the mood music has changed.
When Poland went 2-0 up on Thursday night, things could easily have turned nasty.
Scotland at least salvaged a little bit of pride but, for me, it wasn’t enough to suggest a wholesale change in attitude towards the manager.
Is he getting the same buy-in from the players?
JM: Ask anyone one of them that question and they will answer in the affirmative.
You certainly couldn’t question their commitment and spirit as they came from two goals down to draw level.
But those things that made them such a formidable force at the outset of the Euro qualifiers — a swagger and a stubbornness — are no longer. Something has changed.
Captain Andy Robertson feels the pain after Thursday's defeat against Poland
CC: That’s a hard thing to quantify. Certainly, when you see the likes of Che Adams pulling out of the squad with questions over an alleged injury, it does raise questions. The likes of McGinn and Robertson will always be steadfastly loyal to Clarke.
They are the team leaders and they do seem to have a genuine relationship with the manager. Spin the question another way and ask — is Clarke having the same influence on this group of players as he did? For me, the answer is no.
At what point does Clarke’s job become under threat?
JM: Any manager is done when there is no evidence of them turning a troubling situation around. We’re not there yet.
Although pockmarked by mistakes, there was enough about Scotland especially in the second half against the Poles to offer some hope. But results have to turn quickly. If there’s no victory in the five remaining Nations League matches and the winless run extends to 18, the SFA have a decision to make ahead of the World Cup qualifiers.
The SFA have previously described Steve Clarke as the 'perfect manager'
CC: In all honesty, I don’t think it actually will come under threat. Just a few months ago during the Euros, you had SFA President Mike Mulraney describing Clarke as the ‘perfect manager’. If that statement is reflective of the wider mood inside Hampden, then we can safely assume that Clarke is pretty much bulletproof.
Results can obviously change that narrative and if Scotland were to lose all six games in the Nations League, it would certainly give the SFA a decision to make ahead of the World Cup qualifiers.
But I don’t think they would pull the plug. Clarke spoke last week about how he feels he has ‘earned the right’ to see out his contract. I think he’ll see out the World Cup qualifiers come what may.