Steve Clarke explains decision to base Scotland in Glasgow ahead of Euro 2024 and why 1978 ban left him 'devastated'

In part one of a two-part interview, Clarke recalls being forbidden to join in the hysteria as Ally MacLeod’s players were waved off for the 1978 World Cup – but why he wants the current team to feel the love before Euro 2024 this summer

Steve Clarke at Hampden Park in March last year after signing a contract extension to remain Scotland head coach until 2026

Let’s have a flashback to this time three years ago. Although Scotland had recently qualified for a first major tournament since 1998, it was hard to claim excitement was building in a country struggling with more profound issues.

The then first minister Nicola Sturgeon had just confirmed another lockdown. As one of the hosts of that summer’s Euro 2020, this news from Scotland threw a tournament that was already delayed 12 months due to Covid into more peril. After a meeting of all 12 host nations, Uefa were still only able to announce as late as the end of January that they were “expecting” the finals to go ahead.

It was unsatisfying to put it mildly. Celtic were already in the dock for going to Dubai for a mid-season camp. Football was not doing itself any favours. There were fears clubs would go to the wall. The Euros, if they were going to happen at all, felt like a bit of an afterthought.

Steve Clarke on the sidelines at Wembley during Euro 2020 with England manager Gareth Southgate in the foreground (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

So it was pleasing to sit down with Steve Clarke ahead of this summer's European Championship finals in Germany and be confident that they will at least go ahead. That's one less headache for the Scotland manager as he starts to finalise pre-tournament plans with the aim of making history by reaching the knockout stage. He has only football worries on his plate, albeit significant ones such as skipper Andy Robertson’s fitness.

Only once since 1992 have Scotland fans anticipated watching their side play in a major finals abroad. Has enough time elapsed since 1978's pre-Argentina send-off to consider staging a farewell? Some mention Ally MacLeod's era as a comparison point while seeking to measure the current enthusiasm for the national side, which Clarke might have mixed feelings about.

"A fellow Ayrshireman," he noted. The then teenage Clarke had wanted to go to Hampden to wave off the players. The open-topped bus event is now much ridiculed given the controversies and let-downs once Scotland got to South America. Someone was already wise to the potential for a pratfall before the event. Clarke's father, Eddie, drew the line at travelling into Glasgow when there was not even a game to attend.

"I was devastated because my Dad would not let me go to that," recalled Clarke. "I wanted to go. He was like, 'nah, they are not even playing a game, son'."

Former Scotland manager Ally MacLeod, Steve Clarke's fellow Ayrshireman. Clarke was not allowed to wave the Scotland team farewell before the World Cup in 1978

The airport MacLeod's much vaunted squad left from was in Ayrshire. Even then it was deemed too far to travel for the privilege of waving at some footballers. Clarke Senior drew the line once more. "They flew from Prestwick," smiled Clarke. "They did not get to Saltcoats…"

That pragmatic, determinedly unflashy streak runs from father to son. Rest assured, Scotland will play a game against soon-to-be-announced opponents at Hampden in early summer prior to heading to Germany. The friendly can double as a farewell but that won't be its primary function. Games against the Netherlands and Northern Ireland are already confirmed for March.

The Scots will base themselves in Glasgow before heading to their chosen tournament HQ – a ski resort near the German border with Austria. Clarke is keen to plug into the good vibes generated by buoyant fans, something Scotland were denied three years ago. The Scots chose Middlesbrough’s training centre near Darlington as their base.

“I think with the last Euros it felt a little bit remote,” he said. “Out of the country, we didn’t really get a feel for how the nation was. Obviously, it was in Covid times so it was a little bit different. This time my thinking is that I want the boys to feel the mood of the country before they leave for Germany.

“That’s what I want, that’s what I want for the players. It’s about feeling the mood of the nation before they go there, so they go there understanding the magnitude of the tournament they are going into. I feel maybe the last time, because it was Covid, because it was not a full Hampden, because we were based outside the country, they did not quite get the feel of how enthusiastic the nation was for it. We certainly know this time."

Sold-out signs have been up at every Euro 2024 qualification game at Hampden. The scramble for tickets for Germany has been intense.

It was a very different tournament three years ago, with games played in echoing stadiums that were no more than a third-full. But Scotland still managed to ensure fans felt some familiar emotions when it comes to major finals. There was some hope elicited by the 0-0 draw with England, which would have been a good result in any era. However, crushing disappointment arrived with the 3-1 defeat by Croatia in the final game at Hampden. Clarke now considers the players were a bit “over enthusiastic” in the two ‘home’ games, with Czech Republic winning the first game 2-0. The more controlled, more discipline display v England "was more our style". He has learned and one imagines the players have learned.

“Obviously you feel down because you’re out of the tournament, and we felt we were out a little bit early,” recalled Clarke. "But football moments can go against you and I felt they did.

“There are always regrets if you don’t get the results you wanted. Obviously we felt going into the last Euros that we could get enough points to get out of the group and we didn’t manage to do it. The players are motivated to be successful for their country, they are motivated to play for their country and they quite enjoy making little bits of history along the way.

“So there is a chance going into the summer that they can do something that no Scottish team has ever done before. And that will be the aim.”