Robbie Neilson has praised “phenomenal” Steve Clarke for sticking by his Scotland squad over the years to build the experience that proved vital in guiding the men’s national team to their first World Cup since 1998.
“I think he’s been absolutely phenomenal,” former Dundee United and Hearts boss Neilson told the BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast.
“What he’s done, he touched on it a wee bit last night, getting that experience within the group. I remember a number of years ago when I was doing the pro licence, they spoke about the German national team and the comparisons between the Scottish national team.
“At that point Germany, I think 2014, had just won the World Cup. On average, they had 50 caps per player in the team that won it.
“And at that point, I can’t remember who the manager was, but there was a game we played, I think it was against Greece, and the Greek manager actually had more caps than our team put together.
“And last night, when you look at the team, Scotland had 600 caps on the pitch. And that experience it brings is crucial. Look at the Denmark red card, John McGinn, that experience that he’s got, guy’s on the booking, takes a bit of contact, goes down, probably wins us the game.
“And then on other side of it, 172 caps came on as subs. That is massive, massive experience and that’s what you need to go over the line in these games. It’s what Steve’s done when he came in, was get players, continue to play them, build them and build them and build them.
“You look at guys like Dykes, almost 50 caps now for Scotland. It’s massive, massive experience. I think it really owes well for going into a big tournament now because if you want to progress, you have to have that experience.
“For all the things Steve’s done, I think that’s probably the biggest and best decision he made was get a group of players, stick with them and get them caps under their belt to get that experience.”
