Steve Clarke surprised by Scotland milestone as boss jokes 'I'll just carry on being miserable'

Deep down there’s a part of Steve Clarke that revels in his reputation as Scotland’s grumpy gaffer. But heaven knows there’s plenty of reasons to be miserable now as his plans for a 40th bash in Poland have gone to pot.

Nations League Group A is in the nation’s sights – yet Clarke is going to have to do it with the B Team. It won’t be a problem for the manager though if the B stands for Belgrade. Clarke is right up against it in Krakow ahead of the clash with Ukraine, with half a squad either crocked, banned or laid low with a bug. He counted 16 players from his extended list who won’t be available to help him clock up his 40th match in charge of the country.

Premier League stars such as Andy Robertson, Kieran Tierney, Scott McTominay, Nathan Patterson and Scott McKenna are all among those who will be watching from the sidelines while the likes of Ryan Fraser, Greg Taylor, Lyndon Dykes and Che Adams have been hit by the virus that’s swept through the camp. Talk about bad timing.

But for all Clarke sometimes comes across as downbeat by default, he’s got confidence the Plan B seen in Belgrade when the Scots famously saw off Serbia to reach the Euros can do the business in Poland.

The likes of Declan Gallagher and Ryan Jack were heroes that night and they could be called on this evening as the national side seek the point that will elevate the county into the A-league, bag a play-off insurance policy and land us in pot two for the seeding for the qualification groups.

It’s time for another Belgrade bash as Clarke said: “That’s what we have to aim for. We have to aim to replicate that performance and that result and if we can do that then everybody will be happy.”

Clarke knows happy is not usually how most folk would