Che Adams
Posted in2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #SteveClarke reveals why #CheAdams did not start for Scotland #SAINSTFC

June 16, 2021
SCOTLAND boss Steve Clarke offered a blunt eight-word response when asked why Che Adams was not selected from the start for his side's Euro 2020 opener against Czech Republic. The Saints striker was named on the bench at Hampden Park, before being introduced at half-time. Adams impressed during his 45-minute display, but could not prevent Scotland from falling to a disappointing 2-0 home defeat, leaving them with a tough task to qualify out of Group D. Leicester-born Adams, who only declared allegiance to Scotland in March, came into the tournament having scored twice in his four international appearances. That included the winning goal against Luxembourg earlier this month. But Clarke opted for a strike duo of QPR forward Lyndon Dykes and Celtic's Ryan Christie, with Adams replacing the latter at the break. Two goals from Bayer Leverkusen frontman Patrick Schick settled the contest in Czech Republic's favour. Asked for his thoughts on the contribution of Adams and if there was an argument for him starting the game, Clarke replied: "Hindsight is a wonderful gift. Nobody's got it." Scotland's preparations were hampered by an injury to Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney in the build-up to the fixture. That saw the Tartan Army start with a back three, with Saints star Stuart Armstrong implemented from central midfield. “Obviously we’d done a lot of work on team shape and Kieran was involved in that," said Clarke. “With 48 hours to go when he picks up the little niggle that kept him out, it does take a little bit of changing, it changes the dynamic of the team. “Kieran has been an integral part of how we have played recently but I don’t think we defended too badly. “The moments in the game that got away from us; the first one is preventable, the second is really good. “The dynamic was okay in the rest of the team. I went with Stuart Armstrong to get someone driving from midfield. “The way the game panned out, there wasn’t much midfield play in the first half. It was only when the game opened up and when we started to get the opportunity to play through midfield that I thought we were decent and created some good chances. “Sometimes a football match doesn’t go your way. “I don’t think there was much between the two sides if I am being honest. “You look at our attempts at goal, our possession was good, we weren’t quite clinical enough." Scotland head to Wembley to take on England on Friday (8pm).
Che Adams
Posted in2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #SteveClarke reaction after #CheAdams scores for Scotland in Euro 2020 warm-up match #SAINTSFC

June 8, 2021
STEVE Clarke is ready for the real action to begin at last after Scotland beat Luxembourg 1-0 in their final Euro 2020 warm-up match. After an encouraging 2-2 draw with Holland in Portugal last Wednesday, a Che Adams goal against the 10-man home side at the Stade Josy Barthel set the Scots up nicely for their European Championship opener against Czech Republic at Hampden Park on June 14. Saints striker Adams’s goal came in the 27th minute before Luxembourg defender Vahid Selimovic was shown a straight red card for a ‘last man’ foul on Lyndon Dykes. It is the second time Adams has scored for Scotland, in his fourth appearance, since declaring his allegiance to represent the nation earlier this year. Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour, who came on at half-time for his second cap, had to go back off after a shuddering challenge but Clarke revealed the 19-year-old was “fine” as he looked forward to Scotland, with just two defeats in 16 games, making their first appearance at a major tournament since the 1998 World Cup finals in France. The boss said: “We had lots of chances. Lyndon Dykes is a little bit disappointed in himself that he didn’t get the match ball to be honest, he had so many chances. “Che had a few as well. It was nice to work with the two strikers. I wanted to have a look at them in one of the two games so it was nice to have a look at them. “I wanted to have a look at a different combination in midfield with John McGinn and Scott McTominay and that was interesting and there was more game time for some of the players that required it. “So, good exercise, good training camp, two good friendlies and I can’t wait for next week. We are in a good place.” After the opener against Czech Republic, Scotland travel to Wembley to play England before returning to Glasgow to face Croatia. The former Scotland defender said: “We are going try to be on the front foot as much as the opponents allow us. We are playing good teams so at times we might suffer without the ball. “But when we have the ball, we are going to be on the front foot and create chances like we did tonight and against the Dutch the other night. We look forward to it. It is a tournament that has been a long time coming and we want to make the most of it.”