Tom Boyd hoping Steve Clarke can make Scotland 'solid and dependable'
Steve Clarke will build a Scotland team in his own image, according to his former Chelsea team-mate Tom Boyd.
Steve Clarke will build a Scotland team in his own image, according to his former Chelsea team-mate Tom Boyd.
The new national team boss was known for being a no-frills right-back during his Stamford Bridge playing days.
But Boyd, who spent a year alongside Clarke in south-west London before moving to Celtic in 1992, remembers a reliable stopper who would do anything to ensure his side obtained a result.
Clarke may not have been the most adventurous player but Boyd insists he was strong and stable, qualities he expects to see on show in Scotland's new-look line-up when he takes to the hotseat for the first time this weekend.
The former West Brom, Reading and Kilmarnock boss will make his bow in front of the Tartan Army when the Scots host Cyprus in Saturday's Euro 2020 qualifier.
An excited Boyd said: Steve has just continued how he was as a player into his management style. He was a very committed player, a great player who was all about the team.
He was very solid and dependable. He's been like that as a manager as well at all the clubs he's been to.
He feels aggrieved about some of the decisions that have cost him jobs but where he took Kilmarnock, and where he took the other teams he was in charge of, that's what we want for Scotland.
We'll get a huge lift and a huge amount of pride back if he can because we've been sitting here in the doldrums while these major competitions have been going on.''
Boyd, capped 72 times, was part of the last Scotland men's squad to reach a major championships at the 1998 World Cup.
He has urged his old Blues colleague Clarke to to recreate the bond that helped carry Craig Brown's team all the way to France.
He said: Steve's an old team-mate of mine down at Chelsea and I think everybody was of the opinion that he was the man who should have got he job.
The work he did at Kilmarnock was outstanding. The level of consistency he got from players who were almost also-rans, guys who were not performing but went on to qualify for Europe and finish third, was a stunning achievement.
Steve's got a reputation for producing players and that's what we need to get back to. He's always been able to get a team ethic started.
When I was part of the Scotland team which was very successful, it was down to that team ethic. We worked our socks off, we were very difficult to beat.
We may not have been the most entertaining team but we got to major championships because we were a solid unit. That is what Stevie has got to develop and instil in his side.
In my side, we were good players right enough. You just need to look back at the high calibre of clubs we came from. But no matter who played, we all knew the team came first.'