"Starving" Steve Clarke will hold talks with SFA officials after Scotland land two hours from Lisbon

Steve Clarke is confident Scotland can revive their fortunes under him by gaining a result against Portugal despite travel complications hindering the squad's journey to Lisbon.

The unhappy manager admitted it was “something for me to discuss with the powers that be” after the squad only arrived in Lisbon after 9pm on the eve of the fixture.

It is an already tight turn around for the players following Thursday’s 3-2 defeat to Poland. The Scottish charter flight arrived at Beja airport - over 170kms and a two-hour drive away from the Portuguese capital.” I think it was in Spain,” noted Clarke, grimly. The airport is principally used as a military airbase but does cater for charter flights.

Scotland manager Steve Clarke was unhappy with the travel delays en route to Lisbon (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

Clarke could not disguise his frustration at the inconvenience that meant the manager arrived at a pre-match press conference at 9.16pm on the eve of the Nations League fixture. It was originally scheduled to take place at the Estadio da Luz at 7.30pm. The last time Scotland played at the stadium they lost 5-0 in a World Cup qualifier in 1993. It was an ominous return.

“We are here now,” said Clarke. “It’s a quick turnaround but we have a good group of players, they will turn up tomorrow, don’t worry. And they will be fresh and ready to go.”

Pressed on the travel hitches – the squad’s plane had taken off over an hour from Glasgow due to the baggage carousel being broken – he admitted the whole process was far from ideal. The players sat down for their pre-meal two hours later than planned.

“The only thing is the lads will be having their dinner in the hotel now,” he said. “I'm sitting here starving. They're at the hotel, they'll be eating. The only real downside, apart from the length of time it took us to get here, is the fact that they are sitting down for their dinner probably a couple of hours later than they would normally do.”

He said he had not had the chance to hear the players’ views on the matter. “They travelled here on a separate bus,” he said.

Clarke added that they were concentrating on the game and he will speak to them about the travel issues when he conducts a squad debrief afterwards. It’s likely SFA officials will also hear Clarke’s thoughts.

After one win in 13 games and on the eve of facing one of Europe’s premier teams, the delays and frustrations were the last thing he needed. Clarke sought to focus on the task ahead, part of which involves finding a way to stop Cristiano Ronaldo.

Although the 39-year-old striker recently scored his 900 th career goal, with Portugal manager Roberto Martinez confidently predicting he can reach 1000, he has never scored against Scottish opposition.

“It would be nice if nobody scored against a Scottish team tomorrow from a Portuguese point of view,” said Clarke. “That's what we have to aim for. Cristiano Ronaldo is the player he is, everyone knows about him. Unfortunately Portugal have got one or two players that are just as dangerous.”