Steve Clarke breaks Scotland habit of a lifetime in honest admission over Armenia showdown

Steve Clarke admits Scotland’s savaging from Ireland has created a Nations League win-or-bust scenario against Armenia.

The Scotland boss broke the habit of a lifetime by conceding anything less than a win in Yerevan will do after a three-goal horror show in Dublin on Saturday had the Tartan Army booing his side off the pitch.

Defeat to the previously winless Irish has dented Scotland’s Group B1 campaign and Clarke knows the shocker is another huge setback on the back of failure against Ukraine in the World Cup play-off semi-final.

He said: “We have to win in Armenia, it’s that simple now.

“It might be an ugly one or might be a pretty one – but we need to win.

“Must-wins are not really in my vocabulary, but we have to bounce back from what’s been another disappointment.

“For me, the biggest thing is that we had disappointment and then did OK, and then it’s disappointment again.

“I have to analyse that and find out why that happened.”

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Clarke also bristled at the suggestion his tactical strategy, team selection and continued deployment of a back three which again went to pieces against the Irish was the cause for Saturday’s shocker and insisted anyone pointing the finger at him are wide of the mark.

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