Steve Clarke hoping to keep Scotland momentum going in Poland friendly

Steve Clarke is hoping to build on recent good results and performances from his Scotland side in Thursday night’s friendly match against Poland.

The national team go into the game at Hampden on the back of a six-game winning run that helped book a place in the World Cup play-offs.

Scotland were due to be playing Ukraine in the play-off semi-final this week but the game was postponed following Russia’s invasion.

With the crisis in the country ongoing it is unclear when the game will go ahead.

Poland were drawn against Russia, who have been suspended from UEFA and FIFA competitions until further notice, so will now go straight into Tuesday’s final against the winner of Sweden and Czech Republic.

Scotland captain Andrew Robertson will miss the friendly match with Celtic captain Callum McGregor, Hearts skipper Craig Gordon and Aston Villa’s John McGinn all in contention to wear the armband.

Goalkeeper David Marshall, the hero of the European Championships play-off win in Belgrade, returns to the squad and Bologna left-back Aaron Hickey has been called up for the first time.

Scotland finished last year on a high with a 2-0 win over Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark and Clarke is hoping to keep that momentum going.

He said: “I don’t know how Poland will approach the game because they’ve got a massive game on Tuesday.

“For ourselves it’s just about trying to pick up where we left off last November and try to find that feelgood factor and continuity we had.

“The way we played against Denmark was good so we want to continue that. It’s nice to get the boys back after four months. It’s been a long time so it’s nice to see them. It’s nice to have a couple of good friendlies to look forward to.

“It’s a case of trying to pick up that momentum. If we were going into a more competitive game, there would be a different feel to it. It’s a little bit relaxed, it’s a nice sunny day, but the mood around the camp feels like it did in November and hopefully the performance on the pitch will be just as positive as it was in November.

“I know the term friendly is used but every single game when you represent your country, you want to win. This group of players have shown they want to do that and hopefully it continues in the next two games.”