Scotland urged not to let intensity drop vs Belarus in closed door World Cup clash as squad togetherness praised
Steve Clarke’s side will have to make do without the vocal backing of the Tartan Army in Hungary on Monday night
Steve Clarke reckons Scotland will miss the Tartan Army’s vocal backing in Monday night’s World Cup qualifier against Belarus, with the game being played behind closed doors in Hungary.
Clarke insists his players will give pot four team Belarus, who were thrashed 5-1 by Greece on Friday night, “respect” in their upcoming clash, with the match moved to the ZTE Arena in Zalaegerszeg due to UEFA’s current sanctions against the nation for their support of Russia amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The Scots started their Group C campaign with a goalless draw against top seeds Denmark in Copenhagen and Clarke is expecting another difficult test against Belarus, who sit 50 places above their opponents (97th) in the FIFA rankings.
“The first thing we have to do is respect Belarus,” Clarke admitted. “Respect the conditions of the game, which will be behind closed doors, so totally different from tonight where even the opposition crowd give you that momentum to keep going.
“Obviously the Scotland fans, the Tartan Army, you could hear them all night. That gives the players that little bit of incentive as they’re starting to flag physically.
“They’re always got that. It’s a different scenario going to Hungary to play Belarus behind closed doors, but what we have to do is make sure that we approach the game with the same manner, the same intensity and try to get the points that we need.”
That feeling is shared by returning striker Lyndon Dykes, who believes a family feel among the Scotland squad could prove key in their bid to reach a first World Cup finals in 27 years.
The 29-year-old was an unsung hero at the Parken Stadium as Clarke’s stubborn side left Denmark with a potentially valuable point. And the Birmingham City talisman wants to use the result as fuel for their remaining five qualifying games.
He commented: “We’ve always had that (family feel), especially since this manager came in and it has grown over time. There was a little spell when it got tough (against Denmark), but again, we know what these games mean, we know what they are.
“Games in the World Cup don’t come around so often and we need to make sure we perform, and we done that on Friday night.
“We all get on so well. There’s a few new faces in the squad but when they come in, it’s like a family and we show that on the pitch. So hopefully we can show that on Monday and then we can kick on from there.”