Scotland will grace the European Championships for the third time in 2021 and one of the players from the first squad to qualify believes manager Steve Clarke is similar to those who have previous led the national team to the Euros.
Jim McInally was part of Andy Roxburgh’s squad for the 1992 championship in Sweden.
After that first qualification, four years later Craig Brown led the national team to Euro 96 in England.
This year Scotland will return to Euros with Clarke at the helm after they defeated Serbia 5-4 on penalties in November’s play-off final in Belgrade.
Peterhead manager McInally sees a lot of similarities between Clarke and predecessors Roxburgh and Brown.
He said: “Steve is all about organisation and discipline and getting results, regardless of how you play, it’s just about results.
“He’s got a good tactical nous and he is like Andy Roxburgh and Craig Brown. Andy and Craig were brilliant tactically at setting you up for a game and Steve’s the same.
“In football it’s not all about the professors, there’s too many professors as managers who don’t have a plan B.
“You look at England and Pep Guardiola and Man City only play one way, Arsenal are the same with Mikel Arteta, but these guys are working with top players.
“With Scotland Steve Clarke knows what he’s working with and the organisation he has brought has helped us qualify.
“The reality is it shouldn’t have been a draw with Serbia, it should have been a win, but the way we did it was impressive.
“It was what I would call proper football: it was strikers running channels, getting pushed up the park, not taking any chances at the back trying to play out.
“And they were against a team that were trying to play out and as a result Scotland were able to press them high.
“So it was a great result for proper football in my opinion.”
A lift the country badly needed
After a horrible year in which Covid-19 has dominated everyone’s lives McInally believes ending a 23-year wait to reach a major tournament was a lift the country needed.
Scotland will face the Czech Republic and Croatia at Hampden and England at Wembley in Group D this summer.
The SPFL’s longest serving manager added: “I think if you look at the reaction across the country to us qualifying it was remarkable really.
“If you look at the period of games in November after we qualified we lost the next two and fell off the top of the Nations League group and that’s been overlooked to a certain extent because everyone was so happy to qualify.
“It shows how desperate as a country we were for that qualification and how much more it means than the bigger picture of the Nations League.
“The country obviously needed it just for the reason alone that it’s been such a bad year.
“Personally, touchwood, my family has been OK and we still are OK. But it’s been a horrible year with people losing family and friends this year and people losing jobs and businesses as well.
“It’s been really hard for people and I think it couldn’t have come at a better time for the country.
“We didn’t win a game in November, but it didn’t matter because it was all about qualifying and that’s fine to overlook that because as a country we just needed to be there and have something to look forward to.”
Contributing was McInally’s crowning glory
For former Dundee United midfielder McInally it was touch and go as to whether he would make the squad for Euro 92.
He was suffering from a calf problem in the build-up, but didn’t tell anyone in case it led to him being left out.
After battling through a pre-tournament training camp in America he was selected and played the final 25 minutes of Scotland’s last Group Two game against the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
It’s an experience he treasured and he’s sure the players chosen for this year’s Euros will love being part of the tournament.
He said: “It was brilliant to go and see how it all worked and see these world class players at close quarters.
“Being able to play in the last game was just the crowning glory for me.
“One of the highlights of lockdown was that they were that short of things to show that they put that game on TV and I’d never seen it before so that was good.
“I’ve always said at least I’d made a contribution by making a clearance off the line in that game.
“It made the tournament for me, being there was great, but being able to contribute in one of the games topped it off.
“The great thing about it as well – and I believe it’s the same with the current squad – is there was no interest in money and how much you got for being there.
“It was just about the pride of being able to represent Scotland at a tournament and I think the current squad is the same.”
Legendary Lawman responsible for TV blackout
It wasn’t just on the pitch that where Jim McInally has happy memories of Euro 92.
The Peterhead boss enjoyed the whole experience, with Manchester United, City and Scotland legend Denis Law providing a cherished memory.
The Scotland squad were based in a hotel in Gothenburg for much of the tournament alongside TV crews covering the competition.
Aberdonian Law was working for the BBC as a result of his patriotism was responsible for a blackout while the Scots players watched England’s first game, a 0-0 draw with eventual winners Denmark.
McInally explained: “We had this room with a big screen so we could watch movies and the other games when they were on.
“We were all sat their and Ally McCoist was the bookie and he’d put up all sorts of ridiculous bets like first person to spit on the grass and lots of silly bets.
“So we’re sat watching England v Denmark and England are toiling and I’m not sure how long there was to go but the Danish player goes through.
“I’m not sure who had Denmark to win or was betting first goal or whatever, but the ball gets flicked past the goalie and everyone was ready to jump up and go mad because England would have conceded.
“Then the TV went blank and within a couple of minutes Denis Law runs up and says ‘sorry boys I thought the ball was going in and I jumped with the joy and pulled the plugs out and cut the feed.’
“Then he told us it wasn’t a goal either. Denis was so patriotic anything to see England getting beat, and it’s things like that which never leave you.”