Steve Clarke believes he has a squad full of superstars who can light up the World Cup.
In the early hours of Sunday, the Ayrshireman becomes the first manager since Craig Brown in 1998 to lead a Scotland side at the greatest show on earth.
On the eve of the clash with Haiti in the Boston Stadium, the 62-year-old was handed a huge boost when Scott McTominay trained after shaking off a stomach upset.
While Clarke was naturally delighted that the Napoli midfielder is ready and good to go, he has full faith that every member of his party can have a huge impact across the three Group C matches and beyond.
‘I think I’ve got 26 superstars here,’ he said. ‘I think to try and put so much on to one person isn’t fair.
‘We have built everything over the last seven years as a squad. That’s everybody being together and everybody playing their part at certain times.
Scotland manager Steve Clarke is confident his players can progress from Group C
‘Some daft coach played Scott as a centre-half five years ago. But obviously he’s not a centre-half. And since moving further forward he’s done great for us.
‘No, we’re delighted with Scott’s abilities and what he can bring to the team. But we’re going to need another 15 to bring the same if we want to have a positive tournament.’
Clarke, who will be missing Scott McKenna for the opener through a calf issue, was roundly criticised for failing to make an impact at any of the two European Championships the team qualified for.
‘I think the players have spoken about that themselves,’ he added. ‘Obviously, we know the last two tournaments haven’t gone the way that we wanted the tournaments to go. We now have another chance.
‘And that’s credit to the players that they keep qualifying for these major tournaments. It’s great to be here, but we also want to do something special.’
Clarke was asked what lessons he would take from the opening games at the two Euros which both ended in defeat.
‘The Germany one (in 2024) is easy. Don’t get humped!’ he smiled.
‘The Czech Republic game (in 2021) was a little bit different as I actually thought we played okay. Everyone dwells on the scoreline because we lost 2-0, but if you actually watched the game and where we were in the game at the particular time when Patrick Schick decides to shoot from the halfway line, we were actually looking like we might get an equaliser.
‘So, that was a game that just didn’t go our way. The Germany one was obviously more disappointing because we didn’t get anywhere near the level that we can get. And they, as the host nation, obviously enjoyed it.’
Clarke has recently admitted that he didn’t enjoy either of those experiences on a personal level so was determined to favour this one. Asked to expand on that, he said: ‘It’s pretty straightforward. I just didn’t enjoy them.
‘The first one was Covid-affected and it didn’t feel right. Even going to Wembley, where we put on a really good performance and got a 0-0 draw, there weren’t that many people inside the stadium. It didn’t feel like a major tournament.
‘The other one was a big disappointment because of the way it started the tournament. We let ourselves down and we had that bad feeling.
‘With this tournament, hopefully we have learned from the experience.’
Clarke admitted he didn’t enjoy his experience at a major tournament back in 2024
Clarke revealed that his family are all in town to witness a moment of history first hand.
‘It’s going to be great,’ he said. ‘I’ve got my wife, my three children, my five grandchildren are here as well as my two daughter-in-laws. So there’s a big Clarke clan here and it’s going to be great.
‘Obviously not many people get the chance to take their country to a World Cup. We’re going to try to enjoy it but obviously the game will dictate the circumstances.’
Stressing that getting a win over the group outsiders will be extremely tough, Clarke said: ‘We know it’s going to be a difficult game. It’s the first time in 28 years that we’ve been here and Haiti haven’t been here since 1974.
‘They are also a proud nation and they are going to be 100 per cent committed, the same as we are.
‘We know they have qualities which could cause us problems but we have to deal with those problems and then we have to bring our best game to the pitch when we have the ball. Hopefully that’s enough to win the game.’
