Scotland boss Steve Clarke slams critics for saying they were too quick to wipe out the team’s World Cup chances

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STEVE CLARKE hit back at his Scottish detractors and insisted they were far too quick to write off his side’s World Cup chances.

Clarke and his team are back in contention for a place at Qatar 2022 following Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Austria in Vienna.

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Scotland boss Steve ClarkeCredit: Kenneth Ramsay

The win puts Scotland in second place in Group F ahead of Hampden’s clash with Israel next month in the fight for a play-off spot.

But the boss is still bristling with the criticism his players received after the 2-0 loss to Denmark last week, insisting the criticism they received was far superior.

Clarke said: It’s a good result for us. We knew that by going to Austria we had to get something.

We wanted to do what we’ve always talked about and it stays in the running until November. We want to fight for this second place.

Wed enjoyed fighting for the top spot, but the Danes showed they were a class act.

“They showed it again on Tuesday by beating a good Israeli team 5-0.

So maybe people were a bit over the top with what they said about us after we went to Denmark last week.

“Maybe it was a bit over the top and premature.

Let’s get behind the team and try to get second place, which brings us to a play-off.

Remember, this won’t get us to the World Cup. But that would be progress because it would mean we jumped on top of a team that was seeded above us.

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I was trying to qualify for a World Cup and the way it’s organized, it’s difficult. But we are looking to keep improving.

You can’t tell me that this group of players is no better than when I first took the job. They are a better group, a hungrier group.

Meanwhile, Scotland international Jack Hendry is also struggling to understand the criticisms of the team.

He said: I don’t understand why there is a little negativity there.

We only lost one game in the squad and it was away against seeded Denmark.

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To go and win in Austria, I don’t think you could ask for much more. It’s a huge three points and as a team we’ve been strong all night.

They didn’t really seem to score. There was a header at the end but we handled everything very well.

“We defended our box and didn’t miss out on a lot of chances.

Leaving Austria with three points and a clean sheet, few teams will. “

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