Steve Clarke pinpoints player who had his 'best game for Scotland' as manager delivers 'no panic' message

The Scotland manager described victory as non-negotiable against Michael O’Neill’s team, who represent the next chance to arrest a winless run that now stands at six outings. “The next game I want to win, it is simple,” said Clarke. “I want to win. I just want to win. I want to stop the run of no wins.”

He was realistic about the reaction to the 4-0 defeat in Amsterdam, which he knew would be focused on the late collapse amid multiple substitutions. “The negative is 4-0," he said. "You can’t hide from 4-0. It is a spanking. It was sore. The lads are hurting, I am hurting. The staff are hurting. But we will recover.”

At the heart of the recovery bid will be Billy Gilmour, who posted another coming-of-age performance in the Netherlands, one Clarke hailed as the midfielder’s best in a Scotland jersey. It was high praise from the manager when one considers how well he acquitted himself against England on his full competitive debut during the Euro 2020 finals.

It seemed fitting that Gilmour’s latest bravura performance should come in the Johan Cruyff Arena since he was wearing the No 14 shirt made famous by the Dutch legend.

“Yes, that’s nice,” noted Clarke. “It just shows the regular football he is playing for Brighton in the English Premier League is pushing him on. He is getting better and better. We have always said that about Billy. He is one for the future, but he’s also one for now. He is a good player. He showed that.”

Gilmour is clearly benefitting from regular playing time. Friday was his 42nd appearance for club and country this season, which is already a career best total for the 22-year-old.

Clarke revealed he would not have opted to take Gilmour off after 69 minutes had the match been a competitive fixture. The manager explained that he wanted to take another look at Lewis Ferguson, who is excelling in Serie A with Bologna. Scotland seemed to fall apart in both Gilmour and left centre-half Kieran Tierney’s absence, who was replaced by John Souttar a minute earlier.

“That was harsh,” he acknowledged with reference to Gilmour. “It was Billy’s best game for Scotland, in my opinion. It was his best game. Outstanding. I took him off because I wanted to freshen it up, I wanted to give Lewis a bit of time on the pitch. Before those substitutions had a chance to bed themselves into the game it is 2-0. And then from 2-0 it suddenly became a long night.”

He admits the ragged conclusion to Friday night’s game might alter his thinking before Tuesday’s game against a raw but vibrant Northern Ireland side, who picked up a creditable 1-1 draw in Romania while Scotland were falling to a heavy defeat in Amsterdam.

“I need to go away and think about that one,” he said. “I had an idea in my head. I need to go away and sleep on it. Whatever team I pick should win a game, that’s how I feel. We keep saying we have good strength in depth in the squad, so whichever team, whether I decide to make five or six changes or one or two changes, we still look to win the game.”

He admitted trying to play the Dutch at their own game as he ponders how to approach June’s Euro 2024 opener against Germany. “Sometimes when we play against the better teams, sometimes we play with a little bit of a lower block and sit in and let them play in front of us and then we try to counter attack from there,” he explained. “I just felt that looking at what we have and what we have to do to be better against these teams is to try and force them a little bit, so you win the ball higher up the pitch and it gives you a chance to score. And we created chances."

His message to the Tartan Army was not to panic – or at least not to fret about loss of belief within the staff and playing group. He said fans are permitted to panic if they wish. “It does not matter to me (the reaction back home),” he said. “I won’t panic. We don’t panic. We just strive to get better and hopefully give everyone a better night on Tuesday.”

There is no requirement to offer any special encouragement to Lawrence Shankland, the 28-goal Hearts striker whose normal sureness in the penalty area deserted him at a crucial moment on Friday when failing to convert a chance that would have made it 1-1.

Asked if he would put an arm around him this weekend in training, Clarke replied: “Why? Strikers miss more chances than they score goals. He will recover from it. I thought he did well.”