Steve Clarke has spent the past few days “kicking a few sides and hugging a bit” as Scotland try to move on from their defeat by Germany on the opening night of Euro 2024.
The Scots lost 5-1 on Friday as the tournament hosts taught Clarke’s men in Munich a tough lesson.
Given the goal difference, Scotland probably need at least four points in their next two games, the next one on Wednesday against a Swiss side who opened with a 3-1 defeat by Hungary yesterday.
Reflecting on the Germany game, Clarke told a press conference today: “They understand they let everyone down, they’re disappointed, but they know they have to be ready for the next game – that’s the nature of being involved in football.
“It was a disappointing night. There are a lot of things that are going wrong and we have to get them right in the next game.
“If I can criticize myself, I always criticize myself, I start with myself, maybe I give a lot of information, which may cloud the players a little on the field about what we do with the ball and what we do without the player. football.
“So we can work on that and work on it a little bit this morning. We will work on it in the next two days.”
The full team is locked up for training 🔒 💪#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/AglFzRBlLB
– Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 16, 2024
Asked what he had done to unite the soldiers since Friday, he added: “Kicking a few shoulders, getting them to vote, bringing them together as a team and making them understand why we did that on Friday night and making sure you don’t do that again.”
It can be easy for Scotland’s players to lose the confidence of those trying to gain it but Clarke says morale remains high.
“We believe in ourselves. There is no risk of that,” he said.
“We know it was at night. We have to accept all the criticism that comes our way and fix it properly.
“To be in football, you have to be very strong.”
What is Clarke’s view of Switzerland?
The Swiss present another tough challenge to Scotland as Murat Yakin’s men have plenty of tournament experience.
Clarke added: “Going back to the qualifying campaign, it’s been a struggle for the Swiss. They probably didn’t play as well as they could have.
“People always look at the Swiss and think that they are a small football nation, but they are always there in big tournaments.
“So when it comes to tournament football, like the one in Germany, they were in it – the same as the Swiss team.
“They know how to survive in competitions and they are a nation that we should learn from.”
