Any international manager will tell you, given that they are effectively ‘borrowing’ their players, that their use of the Sir Alex Ferguson-style hairdryer treatment has to be judicious. Furthermore, frequent blasts can often lead to those boots up the backside losing their impact in any case.
Steve Clarke has shown himself to be fully cognisant of the need to protect his Scotland players, both publicly and privately, over the years. The oft-referenced ‘club atmosphere’ he has created within the national team camp has been built upon it.
So, when he does let loose on his men, they know they have fallen below the standards he expects of them, and in fairness, as Scott McKenna explains, that they expect of themselves. And when they staggered over the line at home to Belarus last month, Clarke let rip. Both in the dressing room, and in his post-match press conference.
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Ultimately, Scotland got the points they needed to keep their World Cup dream alive going into the final two games, but Clarke was letting his team know that if they reproduced that sort of level against Greece and Denmark in the final camp of this group, automatic qualification would be out of their reach.
So rare an outburst it was, McKenna explains, that it carried real weight. The message hit home, and then some.
“Absolutely,” McKenna said.
“I think there's been times in the past where the standards have dropped, but he remains positive, reassuring.
“Whereas in the last camp, in the Belarus game especially, we were so far off the performance levels expected that we almost needed a wake-up call.
“We got the three points, and it keeps the campaign alive, but he realises how big the opportunity is that we have.
“By saying what he said, he doesn't want us to recreate that sort of performance that ultimately costs us the chance to go to a World Cup.
“He was absolutely spot-on with everything he said to us - and it was probably needed.
“He's always got that calmness and he's always in control of every situation. I think when he had those words with us, it almost hits harder, and gets his message across more clearly, more strongly, more emphasis on it.
“So, it was absolutely needed, and hopefully that can work going into these two games.”
It is too reductive to say that the Scotland players will therefore be going out in these two matches to ‘do it for Clarke’. They each would want to qualify for a World Cup in equal parts for their families, the fans, the nation and for themselves. But McKenna thinks it would be a fitting closing chapter for the Scotland manager if this is indeed to be his final campaign with the squad.
“Yeah, absolutely,” he said.
“I think the gaffer's been so loyal to all of us in his time in charge here. I think there's been times, myself included, where some of us have not been playing at club level, but he continues to put us in the squad and trusts us and gives us minutes on the park.
“He also led us to two Euros, so we've all got to be thankful to him. Our performances on the pitch are the only way we can really thank him for that, and trying to qualify for a World Cup would be a great way to do it.”
Much has changed since McKenna last represented Scotland in the Americas over seven years ago now, when – on his fourth cap – he led out a ragtag collection of players that Alex McLeish had persuaded to postpone their summer holidays for a friendly against Mexico in front of 72,000 fans at the Azteca Stadium.
That they got out of town with just a 1-0 defeat was seen as something of an accomplishment, and it is an occasion that McKenna will never forget, not only because he captained his country, but because of the atmosphere at the iconic venue.
He would love to sample something similar again next summer, particularly as both he and the national side have come a long way in the intervening years.
“Going across to America, the size of the stadiums are going to be absolutely massive,” he said.
“They will probably be 80,000, 90,000, even 100,000 [capacity] some of them.
“They are huge. The amount of Scotland fans that will be able to get in those stadiums would be absolutely incredible.
“We will obviously focus on these two games first and foremost. But obviously in the back of your mind as a player is the thought of walking out in America representing Scotland at a World Cup.
“We’ve all dreamed of it.”
If those dreams are to be realised by Scotland winning their section, then a draw is required at the very least from the visit to Piraeus to set up a mouthwatering clash against the Danes at Hampden on Tuesday, where a win would see the Scots home and hosed.
Greece, despite losing to Scotland twice over three recent encounters, have proven to be tricky opponents, but McKenna says that Clarke’s squad are full of belief that they can get part one of the job done on Saturday night.
“I don't see any reason why not,” he said.
“We've got to take confidence from the fact we didn't play our best last month, and we've still got a result against them.
“Obviously, we try to improve on the performance level, and hopefully that can only benefit us.
“I would say it's been a bit of a mixed bag against them. So, it's important we turn up as the best version of ourselves, because we know how dangerous they can be and how vital the game is.”
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