A painful exit from the World Cup in the hands of Ukraine – before the victory over an unlucky team of Armenia – was one thing. Embarrassment against the Republic of Ireland, which won 3-0, something else. Clarke has become a more frustrating figure than at any other time in his three-year tenure. “The result and the performance, no, no one could see it coming,” said the Scottish coach. “I support these players 100%. I support them 100% because they were fantastic for the country. They are two big blows, but sometimes life is not always nice and simple. Welcome back. They just have to dig now and get a result in Armenia on Tuesday night. “All you need to do is win.” It is to Clarke’s credit that he gave no focus to his players’ performance in Dublin. This was ultimately a collective nightmare. The manager could easily have chosen to divert the harsh criticism aimed at him from an angry Scottish audience. “I will not listen to it or read it,” Clarke said when asked if he would need thicker skin in the coming days. Questions about whether the Scots can play effectively with a three-player defense when, as is currently the case, Kieran Tierney is missing due to injury. The choice of Jack Hendry by Clark instead of John Southtar on the right of this line seemed wrong. However, the coach is adamant that personnel issues and tactics were not the key to the demonstration against Ireland. “People can break it up if they want to,” Clarke said. “If they think this was a mistake with the game, then I would suggest they may not be right.” Another explanation would be that the defeat by Ukraine, which put an end to hopes of a first appearance at the Scottish World Cup in 1998, shocked Clark’s team to a greater extent than was considered at the time. “I do not think so, I really do not,” the director insisted. “I felt the game last Wednesday [against Armenia] it was a good game for them because they were able to dominate the possession. Ireland caught us and we could not manage it for some reason. “That’s what I have to go and look at.” The Fiver: sign up and receive our daily football email. Then to Yerevan, where anything but a win on Tuesday is unthinkable for Scotland. Ukraine has already taken the initiative in this group of Nations League. “We have to win in Armenia,” Clark admitted. “It’s so simple now and it can be ugly or it can be beautiful – but we have to win. We need to recover from another disappointment. “For me, the biggest thing is that we were disappointed [against Ukraine] and then it’s okay, and then it’s frustration again. I have to analyze it and find out why this happened “.
