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“Starving” Steve Clarke will meet with SFA representatives two hours after Scotland arrives from Lisbon.

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Squad hit by travel delays prior to facing Ronaldo and co as they aim to halt poor run

Steve Clarke is confident Scotland can revive their fortunes under him by gaining a result against Portugal despite travel complications hindering the squad’s journey to Lisbon.

The unhappy manager admitted it was “something for me to discuss with the powers that be” after the squad only arrived in Lisbon after 9pm on the eve of the fixture.

It is an already tight turn around for the players following Thursday’s 3-2 defeat to Poland. The Scottish charter flight arrived at Beja airport – over 170kms and a two-hour drive away from the Portuguese capital.” I think it was in Spain,” noted Clarke, grimly. The airport is principally used as a military airbase but does cater for charter flights.

Clarke could not disguise his frustration at the inconvenience that meant the manager arrived at a pre-match press conference at 9.16pm on the eve of the Nations League fixture. It was originally scheduled to take place at the Estadio da Luz at 7.30pm. The last time Scotland played at the stadium they lost 5-0 in a World Cup qualifier in 1993. It was an ominous return.

“We are here now,” said Clarke. “It’s a quick turnaround but we have a good group of players, they will turn up tomorrow, don’t worry. And they will be fresh and ready to go.”

Pressed on the travel hitches – the squad’s plane had taken off over an hour from Glasgow due to the baggage carousel being broken – he admitted the whole process was far from ideal. The players sat down for their pre-meal two hours later than planned.

“The only thing is the lads will be having their dinner in the hotel now,” he said. “I’m sitting here starving. They’re at the hotel, they’ll be eating. The only real downside, apart from the length of time it took us to get here, is the fact that they are sitting down for their dinner probably a couple of hours later than they would normally do.”

He said he had not had the chance to hear the players’ views on the matter. “They travelled here on a separate bus,” he said.

Clarke added that they were concentrating on the game and he will speak to them about the travel issues when he conducts a squad debrief afterwards. It’s likely SFA officials will also hear Clarke’s thoughts.

After one win in 13 games and on the eve of facing one of Europe’s premier teams, the delays and frustrations were the last thing he needed. Clarke sought to focus on the task ahead, part of which involves finding a way to stop Cristiano Ronaldo.

Although the 39-year-old striker recently scored his 900 th career goal, with Portugal manager Roberto Martinez confidently predicting he can reach 1000, he has never scored against Scottish opposition.

“It would be nice if nobody scored against a Scottish team tomorrow from a Portuguese point of view,” said Clarke. “That’s what we have to aim for. Cristiano Ronaldo is the player he is, everyone knows about him. Unfortunately Portugal have got one or two players that are just as dangerous.”

 

A Rangers fan describes what Clement said to irate fans outside Ibrox following the Old Firm defeat.

Philippe Clement asked Rangers fans for patience after clashing outside Ibrox following the Old Firm loss to Celtic, one fan has revealed.

Supporters were left raging after a humiliating 3-0 defeat at Parkhead on Sunday 1 September against Celtic.

This saw groups wait for the players outside Ibrox as the players returned after the loss and demanded more from them, resulting in heated exchanges with Clement addressing the fans.

Calling into Clyde 1 Superscoreboard on 2 September, someone who witnessed the altercations up close has shared what was said.

The fan said: “I went up to Ibrox after the game, I wanted something, some form of reaction from them. We were shouting at the gaffer saying ‘This isn’t Rangers, this is a disgrace’ and he was saying to us ‘We just need time and patience’. It’s like, you’ve had all the time in the world.

“[James] Tavernier came out the bus and he called us a disgrace and said ‘you’re supposed to be supporters’. That just kicked off everything; I ripped my season ticket up right in front of him.”

Host Gordon Duncan responded, mocking the fan saying: “How do you rip your season ticket? I thought it was a wee card nowadays. I’ve not had a season ticket in a long time is it not a wee card? How do you rip it?”

The fan in question didn’t have a response to this, immediately hanging up.

Philippe Clement Rangers fan demand shared

The Gers haven’t endured the greatest start to the season, while beginning the campaign at Hampden Park only made the tentativeness from fans even worse.

Being dumped out of the Champions League at the hands of Dynamo Kyiv in controversial circumstances was the icing on the cake.

The cherry on the icing on the cake came as the Light Blues suffered a terrible defeat against Celtic in a terrible performance on the day.

It is always a bad sign for a manager when fans react to a defeat by confronting players and abusing them as they get on the team bus.

This just creates a toxic atmosphere around the club which could spell the end for the Belgian manager, despite signing a new contract over the summer.

It is clear from the fan calling into Clyde 1 that supporters have already reached the end of their tether with Clement and his squad, and a massive improvement is needed after the two-week break.

Pat Bonner explains why he was ‘surprised’ Viljami Sinisalo didn’t get his Celtic debut vs Hibernian

The reason behind Pat Bonner’s “surprisal” reaction when Viljami Sinisalo failed to make his Celtic debut against Hibs in the League Cup has been revealed.

After replicating their impressive start from Easter Road last week at Celtic Park yesterday, Brendan Rodgers’ team defeated Hibs 3-1 to secure their spot in the League Cup quarterfinals.

Daizen Maeda, the stand-in striker, scored twice, while Nicolas Kuhn added another goal as Celtic maintained their strong start to the new campaign.

But Viljami Sinisalo’s absence was what upset former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner, who reveals why he was taken aback that the youthful Finnish international didn’t play his first game against the capital club.

Bonner is looking for the Celtic “qualities” of Sinisalo.
After Kasper Schmeichel gave up his first goal of the year to David Gray’s squad, Brendan Rodgers decided to keep the big Dane in goal.

To see what the 22-year-old could offer, Bonner was eager to watch Sinisalo make his first appearances for the Hoops.

“I was surprised, actually, that he didn’t play the custodian, Sinisalo, the young man that he brought in,” Bonner stated on BBC Radio Scotland.

What a great position to be third choice at Celtic, Scott Bain. Scott Bain, when is he going to play? What will be the question now is when he will get a game.

However, I would have preferred to see the other young custodian to determine whether or not he had the skills and self-assurance necessary to succeed as Celtic’s starting custodian in the coming years.

“It would be wonderful if the young man entered and took action.”

Take your time with Sinisalo’s Celtic debut.
There is still plenty of time for Sinisalo to make his Celtic debut, even though it makes sense that Bonner wanted to see the young player make his debut.


On August 18, 2024, in Glasgow, during the Premier Sports Cup match between Celtic and Hibernian at Celtic Park, Celtic’s Kasper Schmeichel is spotted.
Ian MacNicol took the picture/Getty Images
Despite playing at Celtic Park, Rodgers would not have wanted to take the chance of another early cup exit like he did last season, hence the match against Hibs was not the right time to start Sinisalo.

Furthermore, as Bonner correctly notes, Schmeichel still has to develop and be tested in this Celtic club, so it may have been counterproductive to bench the Danish international so early in the campaign.

With so many games remaining in the season, Sinisalo will likely make his debut soon, and the Hoops manager may view the quarterfinal matchup at Celtic Park versus Falkirk as the perfect opportunity to do so.



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