Steve Clarke on unseen World Cup summit in Scotland camp, Gilmour injury and goalkeeper decision

Clarke hopes that the showdown with Greece will show a revitalised side after the slog against Belarus

Steve Clarke(Image: SNS Group)

Steve Clarke arrived in Athens ahead of Scotland’s double date with World Cup destiny and urged his star men not to blow the chance of a lifetime.

Clarke admitted some of his key players were ‘panicked’ by the prospect of how close they are to reaching a first global finals since France 98 – and that it had a negative impact on their performance levels in last month’s wins over Greece and Belarus.

The manager felt inclined to give them both barrels in the immediate aftermath of those nervy Hampden showings but he believes they have got their zen back now that they’re about to enter the closing straight.

Dodge defeat in the ancient capital tonight and they will set up a winner-takes-all thriller at home to Denmark on Tuesday, when a victory would clinch automatic qualification for the big one.

And Clarke said: “The players knew the stakes were so high last time, which is maybe why they probably panicked a little bit during the Belarus game.

“They maybe lost sight of what they were actually trying to do – which was win the game comfortably.

“Look, I spoke right at the very start of my time with the first couple of squads I picked.

“I talked about getting experience into the squad and taking that experience onto the pitch at this level.

“And I think you could see, in the games we didn’t play quite so well at home, we still managed to find a way to win them.

“That’s a really good thing to have in your locker.”

Asked if he was personally spooked by the drop off in form, particularly in the 2-1 win scraped against Group C whipping boys Belarus, he said: “No, not spooked. It happens in football. Sometimes it just doesn’t go for you.

“No, my only concern at the time was that we might drop points in a game we shouldn’t drop points in. Then suddenly you are behind the eight ball if you like in terms of qualification. That was probably where the anger came from, from the fear that we were going to make a mess of things. But we managed to avoid that.

“In the last camp camp we didn’t get a hell of a lot of time on the training pitch. This time we have had more time on the pitch, a chance to discuss a few things we can do better. Hopefully you will see evidence of that in the next two games.”

Clarke, though, declined to reveal which of his three keepers will be given the gloves and tasked with having the world in his hands against the Greeks.

Scotland’s Craig Gordon arrives off the bus

Vastly experienced veteran Craig Gordon is most likely to reclaim his old No.1 shirt ahead of rivals Liam Kelly and Scott Bain.

But Clarke said only: “You know me, I never talk about the team. The players won’t know the team officially because I never tidy it up until the day of the game. But they will have a fair idea.

“Craig is good. Liam is the same, despite not playing at Rangers but working ever so hard and training great.

“Scott Bain has come into the squad and shown that he’s benefitted from coming out of Celtic as the third goalkeeping and playing at Falkirk every week.

“I’ll make my decision on who I feel is the best for the team on the night.

“I came in with an open mind and I think as a coach you’ve always got to have an open mind. You watch the lads – how they train and how they work –

and then obviously as the coach you’ve got to make the decision.”

A draw tonight will be good enough for Scotland to stay on course for straight qualification but Clarke says that potential safety net won’t play into his thinking.

He said: “My approach is always the same to every game. I prepare my teams to win. If you prepare to win and you play as well as you can then most of the time you don’t lose.”

The Scotland camp also hopes for good news from back home where Billy Gilmour is attempting to recover from injury in time to be available for the Denmark blockbuster.

But the boss said: “I haven’t had any news on that. I have been dealing with this game. The second game will take care of itself after this one.

“The medical staff are liaising with the Napoli people. I will know a little bit more after the game tomorrow probably and will be able to tell you the next time I speak to you on Monday.”