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Steve Clarke on Scotland holding Portugal to goalless draw
NicheSportMedia
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15/10/2024
Steve Clarke on Scotland holding Portugal to goalless draw
15/10/2024
Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Category
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Sports
Transcript
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00:00
Steve, you told us yesterday not to doubt your players, how pleased are you with the
00:21
way they dug in and ground out a draw against a very good side tonight?
00:25
Yeah, good. Obviously, the point was important for us after the work we've put into the group
00:32
to get off the mark is nice. So, yeah, Nations League off and running.
00:44
How good is it to have something tangible to show because you've played four games,
00:49
you've been competitive in all of them. How pleased are you to have something to show
00:52
for your efforts?
00:54
Yeah, pleased, pleased. Defensively sound, shaping the team good, denied a lot of space
01:03
behind which Portugal played a lot in front of us. Good concentration in the box, determined
01:09
defending at times from really good blocks, which you have to do against a team like Portugal
01:14
and then when you need a couple of big saves your goalkeepers do it as well. So, everybody
01:19
contributed to what is a well-earned point.
01:23
Nicky Devlin came off the bench and had a big moment right at the end. Was your heart
01:28
in your mouth? Were you thinking, here we go again, some late heartache? It was a brilliant block.
01:32
No, it was fantastic. First cap for Nicky, a moment to remember because basically he
01:39
got his point with that block. He was brave, put himself in. I had no doubts putting Nicky
01:44
into the game. He's trained really well, fitted into the group. He's got good experience,
01:48
30 years of age now, a lot of games under his belt. I knew when Tony was ready to come
01:54
off that Nicky would be fine, and he was.
01:56
Steve, you always said that the players had belief, but what can a result like that, taking
02:01
that first point, do for their confidence?
02:03
No, their confidence was fine. Everybody keeps talking about their confidence, but their
02:07
confidence was fine because they know they can play well. Maybe with the ball tonight
02:13
we didn't play quite as well as we normally do. I think a lot of the missed passes were
02:18
probably down a little bit to fatigue because I asked a lot of the same boys to do a double
02:23
header in the games. But no, I don't think they lack confidence. Obviously tonight's
02:31
point against one of the top European sides is going to give us more confidence going
02:35
into the November games, and we go to those games determined to get more points on the
02:42
board.
02:49
Ben Boak is only 18 years of age right now, and he wasn't born when Cristiano Ronaldo
02:55
started his first ever game for Portugal as well. He put in a very impressive performance
03:00
tonight at Hampden Park. What were your thoughts on his performance tonight?
03:03
Ben? Good for such a young man to be asked to go again. It was a decision which went
03:11
up my mind whether to keep Ben for 30 minutes at the end, maybe like Roberto did with Real.
03:18
For me, he did so well in the game on Saturday that I thought it was better to start him
03:23
and see how long he took before he got too tired and then I had to take him off. But
03:28
the changes that we made also helped the team a lot.
03:31
With your change of system potentially, going back to a back five, could you see him playing
03:35
as a second striker with Che Adams as well, or would he just be as a winger in this formation
03:39
for now?
03:40
That's a discussion for the future, it's probably not a discussion for tonight.
03:46
Steve, does this performance have to be a turning point for the team? It's obviously
03:50
been a difficult run, but you saw the belief, you saw the togetherness of the team out there
03:53
that it feels like this is you turned a corner in a sense?
03:56
I think that togetherness has always been there. I don't think so much about turning
04:02
a corner, I just think about working hard every time we come together to try and get
04:07
points and be successful as a nation. That's what the boys want to do every time they come
04:12
here, they work ever so hard to not let their country down and you see that tonight.
04:23
I think we've all seen over the last few games you've talked about it in Croatia, just bit
04:27
by bit getting back to where you want to be. You've always bought in with the players,
04:33
do you feel as if the fans tonight are buying more into, rather than being down about stuff,
04:38
we're starting to get back up again?
04:40
I don't know. I don't know because I don't really look at fan reaction, I look at the
04:45
reaction of my players. That's all I base it on, myself, my staff, my players. Obviously
04:52
if the team's picking up points and doing well and playing well, the fans will be with
04:57
us, the fans have always been with us. I don't doubt the supporters.
05:03
They were definitely with you, Steve. They seemed nervous, the team's taken so many late
05:09
blows in recent games, they were almost thinking, is it going to happen again? Did you feel
05:14
that or did the players feel that?
05:16
Obviously the players didn't feel it because they just dug in and they ground out a really
05:21
good point for us. The fans can be nervous in a game like that when the opposition have
05:26
so much possession in front of you, you're always thinking they're going to create a
05:30
big, big chance. When they did create the big, big chance, Craig made the save, which
05:34
is the first time in a long time I've celebrated a goalkeeper's save. I was talking to John
05:39
and actually celebrated it. So it meant a lot to me and it meant a lot to everybody
05:43
in the stadium because that's what gets you the point. We spoke before the game about
05:48
doing all the dirty stuff, the hard work, the ugly stuff if you like, and the boys did
05:52
that fantastic tonight.
05:55
Steve, you spoke after the Finland game back in June and said you wouldn't be surprised
06:00
if you saw Craig Gordon back in the Scotland side and lo and behold he's back and probably
06:08
got you the point tonight with the save at the end. What does his performance in these
06:13
two games tell you about him and how much he has to offer the country going forward?
06:18
What I've always said about Craig, ultimate professional, determined to play as long as
06:22
he can and you see that tonight with his performance. Still performing at a very high
06:26
level for his club and now for his country again. Now we're delighted to have him back
06:32
in the squad.
06:33
Steve, how impressed were you by John Suter and Grant Hanley and the partnership developing?
06:38
Really good, really good. I thought they were both excellent. John obviously playing every
06:43
week with Rangers so a little bit more fitness. Grant you have to give credit, not playing
06:50
at Norwich, but comes here and puts on two performances like that over the two games.
06:56
But I think defensively you have to credit everybody. Tony Ralston, good, against difficult
07:01
opponents. Jota and then Leal comes off and I think Leal coming off the bench was ultimately
07:06
done for Tony's calves, which is why Nicky got on the pitch. Andy always steady away,
07:13
like I've spoke before about Andy, he does a great job for the team and I thought the
07:18
midfield three in front were excellent. Billy Gilmore, Kenny McLean and Scott McTominay,
07:24
which gives you that basis to defend well.
07:27
Steve, you said your players did the dirty side of the job well when they had to. They
07:31
kept the structure, they created opportunities. Does that make this feel even more significant
07:36
in terms of this point against that opposition?
07:41
I think we always try and do the right thing, we always try to be solid defensively. Recently
07:49
we've had one or two little lapses in certain moments in the game that cost you dear against
07:55
this type of team. So tonight, maybe at times we got a little bit fortunate, but nobody
08:01
can deny us the fortune because we've worked ever so hard to get that little break that
08:07
maybe one or two missed chances. Reports were thinking they could have scored, but
08:11
we worked hard to earn the breaks and it's a well-deserved point.
08:16
Steve, just before you go, can I ask you about your reaction to Scott Tuchel being the next
08:22
England manager?
08:25
I don't really have one, I'm the Scotland manager, so maybe if we play them in the future
08:29
I'll talk about Mr Tuchel.
08:37
Good phone, good phone.
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