Steve Clarke has cautioned Scottish football that it must embrace a significantly different approach to youth development or risk falling further behind the world’s leading nations. Clarke’s impressive tenure as the national team’s coach—Scotland is currently in the top tier of the Nations League and has qualified for consecutive European Championships—obscures underlying domestic issues. The concerning statistics regarding the scarcity of homegrown players, particularly those under 21, in the Scottish Premiership starkly contrast with the situation in Croatia, whom Scotland will host at Hampden Park on Friday evening.
“At some point, we need to gather, whether it’s a think tank or something else, and try something new that we haven’t attempted before to see if we can make improvements,” Clarke stated. “If we continue with our current methods, things won’t get better.” As the Scotland head coach, Clarke focuses on delivering the results and performances that the Tartan Army expects, as they are the ones who come to watch the matches. Addressing youth development requires a different skill set, or perhaps his stepping away from his current role to think more deeply about it. However, if they keep doing what they’re doing, they’ll continue to get the same results.
Clarke emphasized that change must come from the top. “They need to understand that we must change. I’m sure previous head coaches have mentioned this before, going back many years. Is there an understanding from the top? Yes, I believe there is, but it requires a collective effort. It’s not just the people at the Scottish FA; it’s also those in charge at the clubs. Everyone needs to sit down and work out a way to improve moving forward.”
Clarke pointed to Croatia’s “conveyor belt” of talent as a model Scotland should emulate. “They produce a lot of good young players and allow them to play many games in their own country before they move out, which provides a solid foundation and something we could improve upon here,” he said. “They also show a clear pathway for young players. There’s a lot we need to change if we want to get better. We can reach that level, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
It remains to be seen whether Clarke’s views will resonate with Scottish clubs, many of which have been statistically poor in promoting academy players. Croatia’s visit offers Scotland a chance to improve their record of one win in 16 games. With two matches remaining—against Poland on Monday—Clarke’s team must determine whether they will be relegated to the Nations League’s second level or maintain their current status.
“The result is the most important thing right now,” Clarke said. “We need to convert performances into points. I believe we’ve improved. In our next World Cup qualifying campaign, we will know we can be competitive.”
Scotland team (probable): Gordon; Ralston, Souttar, Hanley, Robertson; Gilmour, McLean; Christie, McTominay, McGinn; Dykes.
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