Respect everyone and fear no one – Steve Clarke ready to take on Germany challenge

Steve Clarke has revealed his ‘respect everyone and fear no one’ attitude ahead of Scotland’s opening European Championship match against Germany.

The boss was speaking at a packed press conference at the Munich Arena ahead of the Group A match against the hosts on Friday evening.

The tartan army continues to flock to the country in their tens of thousands for the first major final abroad since the 1998 World Cup final in France, with Scotland looking to qualify for the last 16 for the first time final of a major tournament.

Clarke is solely focused on preparing his team for the task of facing a European superpower with matches against Switzerland and Hungary to follow.

“It’s the opening game of a four-team sectional, three games, we know what we need to do to qualify and that’s all we’re focused on,” Clarke said. “Everyone is in great shape, flying, desperate to be selected and ready to go.

“The enormity of the first game, though, is a bit of a sideshow and I hope we don’t get too involved in that.

“It’s a difficult match. One of the mantras I have always had is to respect everyone and fear no one.

“We have respect for the host country, we know they are a good team but I hope we can show everyone that we are a good team as well.

“I can enjoy it. I had the chance to participate in big matches, the Champions League final for example, it was nice to participate in the last Euro.

“I can enjoy it, but I will enjoy it even more once we have four points on the board.”

It is the second consecutive Euro for the Scots under Clarke and he said: “I think we should all be proud to be here.

“We have been traveling abroad for a long time since 1998 to participate in a tournament like this.

“That’s why everyone is so excited.” We are proud to have been able to host back-to-back European Championships and I hope that in the end we will be even more proud to have done something a little more special when it comes to Scottish football.

Asked about Germany, unbeaten for four games this year after an unconvincing 2023, Clarke said: “They’re a good team, I think people were trying to put them down a bit.

“I think Julian Nagelsmann discovered, as I did, that it takes time to find the best team and the best team formation.

“When the draw was made I expected it to be a tough match and nothing changed my mind.”

Clarke admits that the invasion of the Tartan Army will “give us a big boost”.

The former Kilmarnock and West Brom boss added: “They will be behind us every minute of every game and that’s really important to us.

“We’ve already had a little taste of it at our base. I’m sure there will be a few tonight in Munich that we won’t see. We hope they have fun and behave well.