CLARKE KENT BEST

Teamsheet might have given some the fear but this was textbook from the boss.. and it could prove crucial result on road to the US

- 

THERE'S a reason Steve Clarke will probably go down as one of the greats.

More often than not over his six years in charge, Clarke's been proven to get the most difficult decisions right, even when most of the rest of us are convinced he's called it all wrong.

It doesn't always work. There have been painful, mentally scarring examples over the years.

Which is probably why last night here in Copenhagen, fear was setting in even before a ball had been kicked in this six-game sprint to the next World Cup.

But what followed was textbook Clarke. Having made choices and selections no one else could understand, he walked away from the Parken Stadium with a point under his arm - expertly smuggled from the home of the Pot One first seeds - that was more than his critics expected. It could have been better, for sure. Scotland passed up a handful of glaring opportunities to help themselves to all three.

Yes, perhaps that's what they could have won had Clarke been a little braver from the get go. And in the final analysis we might all live to regret it.

But if he hasn't earned the trust of the nation after all this time then he never will.

Sometimes it feels almost as if Clarke can't quite help himself. As if there's some kind of stubborn streak deep down that creeps up to the surface and consumes his decision-making on nights like this.

It's turned him into the ultimate buzzkill before. Like when his team sheet dropped off the printer at Hampden ahead of the Euro 2020 opener against the Czechs. Albeit in 2021.

Again when took the wrappers off his selection in Munich ahead of the game against Germany in 2024's version.