‘Clarke doesn’t need to talk to the soul of these players’published at 14:13 BST
14:13 BST
Haiti v Scotland (Sun, 02:00 BST)
Tom English
BBC Scotland’s chief sports writer in Boston
We know that Steve Clarke keeps his emotions in check most of the time, but we also know that he can be moving when he wants to be, as he was when addressing his players before the momentous Denmark game at Hampden in November, the night that electrified a nation.
All of the work is done now, all of the analysis of Haiti, all of the match strategy and the mechanisms to cope with the heat and humidity are firmly in place.
Clarke probably doesn’t need to talk to the soul of these players anymore, because none of them need any reminding of what they’re playing for here.
That’s not to say that Clarke won’t go there. They are the lucky ones – the players chosen to start and the cavalry that will come off the bench.
The history of Scottish football is loaded with really good and truly great players who have never had the privilege of playing at a World Cup.
To go back in time – John Greig, Tommy Gemmell, Billy McNeill, Ron Yeats. None of them got this far. Bobby Murdoch, Jim Baxter, Bertie Auld, Stevie Chalmers the same. Jimmy Johnstone made a World Cup squad but never played.
That list is in no way exhaustive. It’s just a snapshot of the legends who didn’t get to do what Clarke’s men are about to do.