Steve Clarke revealed his Scotland players have been going all out to secure a squad place for this summer’s Euros.
The Scots are in Amsterdam for a friendly against the Netherlands on Friday before they host Northern Ireland in a challenge match at Hampden Park next Tuesday night.
The games are part of the preparations for the European Championship in Germany and the Scotland boss has noticed a certain determination in training.
“The training has been really intense but to be honest and fair to the players the training is normally intense when we come together,” said Clarke, who will decide after the Dutch game whether to bring in a replacement centre-back after losing Grant Hanley and Scott McKenna.
“We have a good camaraderie. It is something that we have built over the last four and half years.
“They understand that I can only pick 23 and they are all trying to show how good they are in training which is fantastic because it drives the standard up and hopefully you see in the two games coming up that everybody is trying to show that they want to be part of the Scotland squad who is going to Germany in the summer.
“This group of players are always competitive when they come away. They want to do well all the time when they come away.
“It is a little bit of an extra edge because we are approaching a major tournament and they want to be involved in.
“For me it is still a long way off. It is there in front of us but for now it is to concentrate on these friendly matches, hopefully two positive results and then we can start thinking about the two pre-camp friendlies before we go to the tournament. It still seems a bit distant to me.”
The Scots have gone five games without a win including qualifying draws with Norway and Georgia, a qualifying defeat against Spain and losses to England and France in friendlies but Clarke attempted to put the results into context.
The former West Brom and Kilmarnock boss said: “The games have been informative, the two results that I don’t like the most is the two draws in the competitive games.
“If we want to continue to improve and get to where we want to be then those are matches that we should win.
“So that is something that we can improve on.
“The circumstances around the games were a little bit different, in that we had just beaten Cyprus away to get 15 points and felt were in a good place.
“England came to Hampden and played very well on the night. We didn’t reach the standards that we want to reach so we lost that one.
“The French was a different one again, we had just qualified having watched Spain beat Norway and we had a good night to be honest.
“We enjoyed ourselves a little but then went to play one of the best teams in the world two days later.
“If you watched the game we had some good moments and showed we can be competitive against these teams, that’s what we want to show tomorrow night against a very good Dutch side.
“We want to show we are improving and obviously we want a positive result as well.
“The Dutch team have good players, we expect a tough game.”
Bologna 3-3 Juventus: Bianconeri hit back in Motta's job interview
Juventus scored three goals in eight minutes to complete a remarkable comeback and secure a 3-3 draw against Serie A's surprise package Bologna on Monday.
The Bianconeri, who sacked Massimiliano Allegri last week, endured a nightmare start as Riccardo Calafiori and Santiago Castro propelled hosts Bologna into a 2-0 lead within 11 minutes.
Matters got worse for Bianconeri interim boss Paolo Montero when Calafiori struck again eight minutes into the second half to put Bologna, coached by reported Juve target Thiago Motta, into a 3-0 lead, with the defender chipping the ball over goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
Yet Federico Chiesa's 76th-minute effort kickstarted a stunning turnaround, with Arkadiusz Milik's free-kick soon after teeing up a grandstand finale.
Kenan Yildiz was the player who sealed the draw, as Juve hit back against their potential next coach.
The result left third-placed Bologna level on 68 points with Juve in fourth before the final matchday.
Data Debrief: Three down? No problems
For the first time in their history, Juve avoided defeat in a Serie A game in which they had been at least three goals behind.
Chiesa was key to their comeback. Bologna are the team that the Italy international has scored the most league goals against in his career (seven in 11 matches).
Liverpool offer 'difficult to ignore', says Klopp's replacement Slot
Arne Slot said it was "not an easy decision" to leave Feyenoord, but ultimately he could not turn down the Liverpool job.
Liverpool finally confirmed Slot as Jurgen Klopp's successor on Monday.
Klopp signed off on his nine-year tenure in charge of Liverpool with a 2-0 win over Wolves on Sunday.
The German started an "Arne Slot" chant during his leaving speech at Anfield, and a day later, the Reds officially announced the 45-year-old Dutchman's appointment, subject to a work permit.
Slot led Feyenoord to the Eredivisie title during his time in charge, as well as the KNVB Beker, while they also reached the Europa Conference League final in 2022.
Speaking to Feyenoord's official website, Slot said: "It is certainly not an easy decision to close the door behind you at a club where you have experienced so many wonderful moments and worked successfully with so many wonderful people.
"But as a sportsman, an opportunity to become a head coach in the Premier League, at one of the biggest clubs in the world, is difficult to ignore.
"At the same time, we understand very well that working at a club like Liverpool is a special and unique opportunity for him. With that in mind, we started the conversation to see if we could find a solution together, and in the end we succeeded."
Feyenoord beat Excelsior in Feyenoord's final match in charge on Sunday.
Hojlund form gives Man Utd 'luxury problem' for FA Cup final, says Ten Hag
Rasmus Hojlund's return to form presents a "luxury problem" for Manchester United ahead of this weekend's FA Cup final against Manchester City, says Erik ten Hag.
Hojlund came off the bench to score United's second goal as they rounded off their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday, having also netted in last week's 3-2 victory over Newcastle United.
He finished his debut Premier League season with 10 goals, becoming the youngest player to reach double figures in 2023-24 (21 years, 105 days old as of Sunday).
Hojlund has battled injury problems and dips in form throughout the campaign, and in his absence, Ten Hag has often opted to deploy Bruno Fernandes as a false nine.
The Portugal international started United's last two matches in that position, and Ten Hag says he has plenty to think about as he prepares to name his cup final lineup.
"It is not a dilemma, it is a luxury problem," Ten Hag said.
"I think both formations can be a success because, as you know, we can play with the set-up from the Etihad, where we were a threat with Bruno's movement in behind.
"With Rasmus Hojlund in behind and in form, it is absolutely something we have to consider.
"Let's have a thought, but let's not say we only need 11 players. In a tough final, you need a bench as well."
Hojlund failed to score in his first 15 Premier League matches before ending his drought against Aston Villa on Boxing Day, though he did score five times in United's unsuccessful Champions League campaign before Christmas.
He has 16 goals across all competitions this term, which Ten Hag sees as a good effort when taking his fitness problems into account.
"It could always be better, but don't forget he had three injuries this season," Ten Hag said.
"He came in with an injury and missed the start, then he got injured before winter, and then got another injury after winter.
"Every time that has broken his rhythm. If you score 16 goals for a first season, it is okay, and remember it is also not over. We have the final too."
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