Lime Hall Academy · Premier League · Defender · #0 · Jamaica · 20 yrs
Gary Dicker describes his former Kilmarnock boss Steve Clarke as a "clever manager" and isn't surprised by what he's achieved with the Scotland national side. Dicker played under Clarke at Rugby Park for two seasons and is now assistant coach at Charlotte FC. The pair's paths have crossed again with the Scotland squad using the Major League Soccer outfit's training facilities during the World Cup.
Head coach ‘absolutely delighted’ with World Cup triumph over Haiti‘Different approach’ needed in games against Morocco and BrazilSteve Clarke suggested expectation weighed heavily on the shoulders of Scotland’s players after they laboured at times during the 1-0 win over Haiti. The game marked Scotland’s first at a World Cup since 1998 and delivered a first win since eight years earlier. The Scots top Group C after Brazil drew with Morocco. Yet with those teams, both ranked in the top 10 in the world, still to come there is an understanding Scotland will have to improve to realise their ambition of becoming the first team from the nation to reach the knockout phase of a major tournament.“I am absolutely delighted with my players,” said Clarke. “Resilience, character had to be on the pitch tonight. There is no relief. Everyone told us it was a must-win game and we won. When you win a must-win game, you have to be happy with yourselves.” Continue reading...
It was backs to the wall in the second half and Haiti actually gave us a bit of a doing in terms of the football they played. Steve Clarke will be delighted with the three points but against better quality in that final third they're not going to survive the way they did. A player who can get the ball, hold the ball, play passes, take it in difficult areas and be the metronome we know he can be.
Steve Clarke’s team start against Haiti in Foxborough with growing optimism of ending their pattern of failure on the biggest stageIt is not only ghosts from Costa Rica, Peru, Iran or Zaire that haunt Scotland as they prepare for a long-awaited World Cup return. Instead, there is a broader pattern of failure that Steve Clarke and his class of 2026 need to extricate the nation from. From 23 games on football’s biggest stage, the Scots have won only four times. The expansion of the World Cup should assist them, a team who now and correctly regard merely qualifying for major tournaments as insufficient.Scotland were unbeaten in 1974 yet took an early path home from West Germany. More than 50 years later, a comfortable win over Haiti should be enough to seal progression to the last 32. It is impossible to shake the notion that Scotland’s World Cup fate is dependent on game one in Boston against a side who lack nothing in national cause. Haiti’s pace and physicality will cause some tartan tremors. Nonetheless, taking on the 83rd-ranked team in the world with history-making on the line is an appetising deal. Continue reading...
Scotland and Norway were due to contest a training-ground friendly on Monday, but Steve Clarke cancelled one day before the match. The post Scotland branded ‘unprofessional’ and ‘weak’ for cancelling training-ground friendly versus Norway appeared first on SoccerNews.
Scotland branded ‘unprofessional, weak’John McGinn: ‘Our job is to look after Scotland’Scotland’s return to the World Cup after a 28-year absence has been immediately overshadowed by a war of words with Norway. Steve Clarke and Scotland were branded “unprofessional”, “embarrassing” and “weak” by the Norwegians after the cancellation of a training game planned for Monday in Charlotte. After the Scottish FA expressed “surprise” at the Norwegian stance, the Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn told the aggrieved parties to read up on Scotland’s injury situation.With the Scots and Norway both based in North Carolina, a game was scheduled to afford minutes to players requiring them. Scotland postponed the match on Saturday, with the injury sustained by Billy Gilmour during the recent friendly against Curaçao – which put him out of the World Cup – apparently uppermost in Clarke’s thoughts. Continue reading...
