Steve Clarke admits he ‘clouded’ Scotland players’ minds ahead of Germany thrashing

Asked about his role in maintaining the togetherness of the Scotland squad, Clarke said: “Kicking a couple of backsides, giving a couple of cuddles, getting them together as a group and making them understand why we had that performance on Friday night and making sure we don’t have that performance again. I’m always confident in my players and always confident in myself.

“There are no excuses when you lose a game 5-1. You have to take all the criticism that comes, you have to respond. The good thing for me is that we’ve been in this position before. I’ve always responded pretty well, this group of players have always responded well. So that’s what we try to do.

“They understand they have let everybody down, they are disappointed, but they know they have to be ready for the next game. That is the nature of being involved in football. We can still do it [qualify for the knockout stages]. We can still achieve that.”

Switzerland were impressive in their victory over Hungary, with former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka starring in midfield. Clarke compared Xhaka, now of Bayer Leverkusen, to Germany’s Toni Kroos, who was excellent on the opening night.

“Their captain, their leader, Granit Xhaka, is very important,” said Clarke. “He is a key player and makes the team tick, not dissimilar to what Kroos does for Germany. We have a lot of respect for the [Switzerland] players. They are a good team, a tough opponent.”