Steve Clarke sends clear Scotland message to Hearts stars and Hibs heroes in Euro 2024 bid after tough loss

The Scotland head coach has had a final debrief with his squad before the summer.

Steve Clarke has sent a message to his players.

Steve Clarke has told the Scotland squad to give their all for their clubs so they have a chance of doing so for their country this summer.

Hearts stars Lawrence Shankland, Craig Gordon and Zander Clark were all picked by the head coach this month for Euro 2024 warm-up matches. It was a disappointing camp in terms of results, with a 4-0 loss against Netherlands followed up by a 1-0 defeat to Northern Ireland at Hampden.

Hibs hero John McGinn and Easter Road academy graduate Ryan Porteous also featured across the two clashes. Clarke has insisted not all was bad from the two results, although he has now urged his stars to build up club form ahead of picking his squad for Germany in May.

He said: "I know the nature of the group. They are determined to do what no Scottish team has done before in the summer. All I said to them was go away and play well for your club, win trophies if you are going for trophies and don’t get relegated if you are fighting a relegation battle.

"Just do what you have to do and make sure you are fit when I pick the squad in May and that’s it really. I don’t think this will linger. I really don’t.

"Like I say, I can be a little bit sulky but we tried what we tried to do against Northern Ireland and it didn’t work for us. But I don’t think it was a bad performance. People might say it is a bad performance because we lost. It was a bad result it was not a bad performance."

Next up for the national team prior to the Euro 2024 opener with Germany are friendly clashes with Gibraltar and Finland. Clarke has also launched a defence of right-back Nathan Patterson.

The defender gave the ball away in the build-up to the Northern Ireland goal, losing it after doing so well to recover and Conor Bradley scored the eventual winner. Amid a lack of minutes for Everton, Clarke has backed the former Rangers star to bounce back from adversity.

Clarke added: "He did fantastic to get back in, did well and then picked the wrong option. It happens, if you are not playing. He is a young player who we know will be part of what we are trying to do in the future. He will learn."