Steve Clarke calls on Scotland charges to up their level against Ukraine

As the Republic of Ireland's Nations League group rivals Scotland and Ukraine prepare to do battle on Wednesday, Steve Clarke has challenged his side to produce a much better display than they managed in their World Cup play-off defeat earlier this year.

The Scots were well beaten in the last meeting between the teams at the start of June as Oleksandr Petrakov’s team – playing their first match since the Russian invasion of their homeland began in February – produced an impressive display to win 3-1 on an emotional night at Hampden.

Clarke is hoping for a much better showing when the sides are reunited in Glasgow.

"I don’t think it will have the same edge because that game in June was pretty unique with the circumstances leading into it," said Clarke, when asked how this week’s match will compare with the World Cup play-off.

"It’ll be slightly different but it’s still a big game for two teams that want to top the section. I think the Scottish public, the Scottish fans now will know that Ukraine are a very good team.

"I’m sure they will play to the same level but what I’m looking for from our team is that we get back to the level that we can and then we’ll see what the result is.

"I think the players knew what to expect in the summer but we just didn’t reach our levels. Hopefully this time we do."

We need your consent to load this YouTube contentWe use YouTube to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

Clarke has no plans to call anyone else into the squad before the match despite losing three players to injury.

Striker Jacob Brown, defender Grant Hanley and goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin all