KICK THE DOUR IN

Don't let hangdog demeanour fool you, Clarke wants his team to be bold and brave as he urges them to stay on front foot after 70 minutes of gold v Dutch

- KEITH JACKSON

STEVE CLARKE has worked too hard on cultivating his own image to give it up now.

The hangdog expression, the shoulder-shrugging reluctant approach to going through his media duties, it's all part of his schtick.

But just because he plays the grouchy, slightly dull card doesn't mean the manager wants his side to play in his own image.

On the contrary, the next stage of Clarke's Scotland evolution might be a whole lot more flamboyant and entertaining than anyone expected.

On Friday in Amsterdam he set up his team to get on the front foot and take on the Dutch at their own game. That they did so for 68 minutes came as no surprise to the man in charge of laying down the tactics.

The only thing he didn't see coming was the late capitulation that saw them ship three goals and end up on the end of an embarrassing 4-0 scoreline.

But while he's been busy getting to the bottom of that Tate collapse over the past couple of days, Clarke shows no signs of allowing it to curb his ambitions for the way he wants his players to go about their business at the Euros.

When asked if his five-year journey with this Scotland side has turned a new, perhaps even exhilarating corner, he said: "I want to be a team that can play different systems, can play different ways and be confident in whichever way we decide to go on to the pitch.

"Hopefully the head coach has picked the right tactics and the right way to play the game. That's how you improve - if you can play in different ways.

"If you just become predictable, the opposition will find a way to beat you.

"We have to try to be different. Normally against a pot one team we would be a little bit deeper and wait for our moments to break.