Portugal 2-1 Scotland: What the manager said

Scotland head coach Steve Clarke: “Obviously disappointed to lose the game where it looked for a long period of time that we’d get something from the game. Really disappointed for my players, the effort and the quality they put in deserved to get something.

“I reiterated to the players that we have to understand what part of the cycle we’re in, what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to re-adjust after the summer, we can use these matches to try and build. The end goal is to qualify for a tournament. It would be nice to get some points, not to conceded late goals, but this is the level we’re at because we have been a good team. The players understand how difficult it is to get results at this level.

“There’s been a lot of positives, if you ignore the results. But we’re professionals, so it’s disappointing that we played very well in two games and have nothing to show for it. It’s a level where the lessons are harsh. I spoke to the players in the dressing room and told them not to be too harsh on themselves.

“They have to understand the work we’re doing. If you look at the time we had to work. We’ve changed the system a little for these two matches and I think you see the players have done good work. That’s why I’m so disappointed for them, because they’ve put so much into these two games.”