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Scotland are preparing for their first World Cup appearance since France 1998, and captain Andy Robertson believes manager Steve Clarke deserves immense praise for reshaping the team’s mindset and consistency.

Since taking charge of the national team in 2019, Clarke has ended a long run of failed qualification campaigns and reignited hope among the Tartan Army that Scotland can finally make it past the group stage at the World Cup for the first time in their history.

Robertson, who made his Scotland debut in 2014, has been central to this era of change and feels that the atmosphere within the squad heading into this summer’s tournament is completely different from when he first joined the national setup.

Robertson reflected on the impact Clarke has made since his appointment, explaining that one of the manager’s early goals was to build a team with greater international experience.

“When he first came in, what he wanted was more international experience,” said the Liverpool full-back in a conversation with FourFourTwo.

“If you look at his first squad, the number of caps we had wasn’t very high. Sometimes he gets criticised for sticking with the same players, but now we have a squad full of international experience, which is not easy to develop and maintain.”

He continued, “Now we have a group that looks forward to every training camp and refuses to take a step back. Everyone wants to show up and give their best for the country. That’s the manager’s influence.”

Robertson added, “It’s a collective effort when it comes to the quality of players we’ve got, but it starts and ends with the manager—his vision, and the way he has stuck to it.”

He further emphasised that the increased experience at the international level has been crucial in helping Scotland grind out results. “Having that experience helps you when games get tough—it can make the difference in getting over the line. That’s been a big reason why we’ve done so well in qualification. We know how to win matches at this level.”

Robertson also praised Clarke’s leadership behind the scenes, highlighting last autumn’s decisive victory over Denmark—which secured Scotland’s place at this summer’s World Cup—as a prime example of his ability to inspire the team.

“A lot of people mention his pre-match talk before Denmark,” Robertson recalled. “It was a massive game—we knew winning it would mean qualifying for our first World Cup in years.”

“His speech at the hotel before we left was incredibly moving and motivational. You don’t often see that emotional side of him. He spoke about his life journey and our journey as a team—where we’ve come from and where we want to go. That set the tone for the entire night.”

“I already felt it was going to be a special night, but after that meeting, as we got on the bus, I was convinced nothing would stop us.”