Scotland manager Steve Clarke has admitted he was unaware that his squad shared a city centre hotel with pop superstar Katy Perry this week, as the singer’s Lifetimes tour stopped in Glasgow. When asked about Perry’s presence, Clarke said: “Was she? I didn’t know she was there. I’ve heard the name and I’m sure if you played me a couple of her songs I’d say: ‘I recognise that one.’ But I couldn’t name you one of her songs. That’s no disrespect to Katy but I’m from a different generation.” Pressed on whether he would recognise Perry, Clarke added: “Eh, no. And she wouldn’t recognise me.”
Clarke’s focus remains firmly on Thursday’s World Cup qualifier against Greece at Hampden Park, followed by a visit from Belarus on Sunday. Scotland opened their qualifying campaign with four points from two away games, and Clarke stressed the importance of building on that start. “The players understand that every game in a qualification process is important, to get as many points as you can,” he said.
The build-up has been overshadowed by club matters, including Rangers’ sacking of Russell Martin and Steven Gerrard’s potential return to Ibrox, as well as off-field issues at Celtic. Clarke acknowledged the unusual lack of focus on the national team: “I do glance through the headlines sometimes and it’s been strange in the buildup to such a big game that the national team has not been the main headline. But listen, that’s the nature of football in Scotland.”
Thursday’s match will see Clarke equal the late Craig Brown’s record of 71 games in charge of Scotland. The 62-year-old played down the milestone: “I haven’t really thought about it, to be honest. Having had a half-decent career as a player and a half-decent career up to now as a manager and a head coach … I don’t think I’m finished yet. Let me finish and then look back and I will tell you exactly how I feel about it.”
Greece arrive in Scotland with confidence after a 3-0 Nations League win at Hampden in March. Clarke acknowledged that defeat stung: “The players did not quite hit the heights that they had before. So if this is a chance to make amends, hopefully that is what we do.”
