Steve Clarke, head coach of the Scottish national football team, recently made radical changes to his backroom staff. These changes happen as the squad prepares for their first World Cup qualifiers this fall. Steven Naismith, one of Clarke’s former players, has been named the new assistant coach. Beyond that, a new face on the staff is Andrew Hughes, who comes in as set-piece coach. This new look is intended to help Scotland put in improved displays for their all important qualifying games with Denmark and Belarus in early September.
Notably, Scotland’s captain Andy Robertson spoke positively about the prospects of their next few qualifiers. He admitted that the last few games have not been good enough for this team. That being said, the team are looking forward to the double-header against Denmark and Belarus. Robertson’s leadership will be key, as the veteran must continue to rally his young teammates for an impressive home effort.
Clarke expressed his delight with bringing Naismith and Hughes onto the coaching staff. He immediately saw their ability to raise the competitive bar for the entire team.
“I am delighted to have Steven and Andrew with us for the World Cup qualifying campaign,” said Clarke.
Naismith, who previously made 51 appearances for Scotland, expressed his excitement about rejoining the national team in a coaching capacity. His own experience as a former player under Clarke, as well as his accompanying wealth of coaching experience is likely to provide invaluable insight to the squad.
“I am really excited to be rejoining the Scotland men’s national team coaching staff under Steve,” Naismith stated.
Hughes has an extensive background in set-piece coaching. He’s done terrific work at clubs such as Norwich City and Leicester City, developing their ability to shine in the big moments. His tactical expertise in this regard should hopefully reinforce Scotland’s approach throughout the qualifiers.
“From the moment I got the call from Steve I have felt extremely honoured to be invited to work with the Scotland men’s national team,” Hughes remarked.
Clarke noted Naismith’s dedication to the national team, highlighting that despite opportunities to return to full-time club football, Naismith chose to contribute to Scotland’s efforts.
“He has had opportunities to return to full-time club football, so it says a lot for his pride in the national team that he has agreed to join up with us again,” Clarke added.
After a decade of near-misses, Scotland’s recent achievement of qualifying for consecutive European Championship finals has created a new level of expectation from supporters. New coaching talent is taking over, injecting new life into the program. With a focused armband wearer driving them forward, they have the cutlery required to weather the storms during their tall order qualification campaign.
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