Scotland head coach Steve Clarke believes the Covid-19 protocols the national team have in place have worked.
Portugal talisman Cristiano Ronaldo is the latest player to have tested positive for the virus on international duty, which comes just days after Scotland had their own diagnosis with Stuart Armstrong.
After being identified as close contacts of Armstrong, Kieran Tierney and Ryan Christie were required to self-isolate for 14 days, ruling them out of all three Scotland fixtures and their first club games after the international break.
But Clarke highlighted the fact there were no further cases – all tests returned negative results yesterday prior to the Czech Republic game – as evidence their protocols are working.
He said: “I’d just point to the fact that even though we’ve had one incident in the camp, the protocols work. It hasn’t decimated our squad, as such. It hasn’t spread right through it.
“That shows what we have in place is as good and robust as things can be. Listen, all the clubs will be nervous about it when their players go away in international duty. But they’ll also be nervous about their players in house as well. You don’t know where you’re going to pick it up, it could be anywhere.”
“I think we’re going to have to keep moving forward with the virus. You can see that even now with the restrictions that are in place. The initial lockdown was more harsh and every country is very reluctant to go back to a situation like that.
“They are all trying to manage it area by area and that’s the way forward. We are going to have to learn to live with the virus. We’re probably buying a little bit of time just now in terms of getting to know it better and understand how to protect the vulnerable people while obviously keeping as much pressure as we can off the NHS and the people who do the real hard yards.”
Questions have been raised about the merits of having players travelling across the continent when countries are at various stages of dealing with the virus.
Scotland face Czech Republic at Hampden Park tonight, after facing the same side in Olomouc last month in which their entire first-choice squad had to isolate.
Clarke added: “If it wasn’t for the last Nations League campaign then we’d already be out of the Euros 2020. Instead we’re all sitting here excited and looking forward to next month where we have the chance to go to Serbia and qualify for our first major tournament in 22 years. It’s a tournament we can’t speak badly about.
“The work that Alex McLeish started with the players he had available in the last section – winning the league C section – has enabled us to have this one-off shot now.”
Clarke is expecting a Czech side eager to put right last month’s 2-1 defeat, with tonight’s opponents sitting second in Group B2.
“I’m sure there will be. They’ll come with an almost full strength starting eleven as the team that played against Israel are all available.
“So they’ll come at us, they’ll be fresh and strong – they have good quality players – and we expect a tough challenge. But, listen, if we want to win the group it’s a game we have to look to take three points from.”
