Steve Clarke warns Scotland of 'dangerous' way to approach Switzerland showdown that could sink Euro 2024 hopes

Scotland boss Steve Clarke arrived in storm-battered Cologne and immediately warned his players they could sink their own Euros dream by playing for a draw against the Swiss.

Clarke kept his messaging brief at the official pre-match press conference by admitting his team “must do better” as thunder and lightning ripped through Rhineland. Tonight’s game could either send them home early or set up a Euro 2024 qualification cup final against Hungary on Sunday. One point would be enough to keep the Scots alive heading into that final Group A game in Stuttgart.

However, the boss insisted there will be no confusion over the target he has set as he aims to get these finals up and running with a first win. Clarke said: “To go into the game thinking we only need a point is dangerous. So we’ll go there to win it and to be as positive as we can. Then we’ll see where that takes us. But it’s more about making sure we perform as well as we can play. If we can do that, we’ll be pretty confident that we can get something from the game.”

Clarke was keen to keep it brief in front of the cameras and to avoid making promises that cannot be kept. But repeatedly he demanded a massive uplift in performance level after that opening night 5-1 thrashing against the Germans in Munich.

He added: “The Swiss are a difficult opponent so I expect a difficult game. But for us, we need to regroup and go again. It’s about doing better. I don’t want to put any labels on it. It’s about doing better and working better into the game. We thought we were well prepared for Germany and obviously we weren’t.

“So this time we don’t want to say too much and hopefully our actions on the pitch will show that we have prepared well. And a positive result would be