Steve Clarke in 'forceful' reminder to Scotland players as he demands World Cup levels of intensity for friendly matches

Scotland manager Steve Clarke has enrolled his players in a ‘refresher course’ as he bids to ensure their standards and intensity levels are maintained amid the delay to the climax of their World Cup qualifying campaign.

Clarke’s squad should have been facing a play-off semi-final against Ukraine at Hampden on Thursday night. That fixture has been rescheduled for June as the Russian military assault on Ukraine continues, with Scotland now facing Poland in a friendly which will raise funds for UNICEF’s emergency appeal for humanitarian aid to support families and children affected by the conflict.

The Scots will play another friendly next Tuesday, away to the losers of the other semi-final in their play-off path between Wales and Austria.

Scotland built up remarkable momentum in the first half of this season with six consecutive wins in their World Cup qualifying group, culminating in an impressive 2-0 win over Denmark at Hampden last November.

Clarke will stress upon his players the need to approach the friendlies in a similar vein and keep their focus firmly fixed on their World Cup ambitions.

“From the football side of things the preparation will be what it always is,” said Clarke’s assistant coach Steven Naismith.

“The manager is very forceful in terms of what he expects and how high he wants the standard to be.

“So there is an element of raising awareness and raising money for Ukraine and an outstanding cause.

“But we have to focus on the football side as well and that’s important from now until June. It’s about giving the boys a refresher course on what’s expected of them.

“In terms of the football and the preparation side, the key things for us revolve around the fact the squad has had four or five months away from