Charlie Mulgrew reckons that Scotland manager Steve Clarke has been a victim of his own success in getting Scotland to major finals and promotion into the top division of the Nations League…
Steve Clarke’s done a great job with Scotland
The former Celtic defender, speaking exclusively to Gambling.com following Scotland’s Nations League matches against Croatia and Portugal, reckons that the Scotland fans who reckon that Clarke’s time is up after such a long sequence of matches, with only a win against tiny Gibraltar, all have short memories.
“Steve Clarke’s done a great job with Scotland. We are quick to forget how he got us to these major tournaments for the first time in a long, long time. So he deserves massive credit for that,” Mulgrew argued.
You leave yourself wide open to criticism
“Of course when you get to these tournaments you then come up against top opposition who have got there as well, and it becomes a bit more difficult.
“You leave yourself wide open to criticism when you play against these teams, because you’ve got to that level and you’re almost a victim of your own success. It’s the same as getting in this division in the Nations League, you’re in the top division, you’re against these top teams. So it’s going to be difficult.
A victim of his own success
“He’s been a victim of his own success. There’s been a lot of injuries as well this campaign with some key players missing like John McGinn, and obviously Callum McGregor has retired. I think that he’s done a great job, there’s no getting away from that and he probably deserves a bit more time.”
Conor Spence made a decent point writing on The Celtic Star this morning when he pointed out that the change in formation brought about because of the injuries to the likes of Kieran Tierney and John McGinn cannot be temporary as the system devised to accommodate two left backs in the team left Scotland with two shots at goal in the entire Euro 2024 campaign back in June.
Conor had previously called for Steve Clarke to leave or lose his job but has softened his stance after last night’s battling performance against Portugal.
