You are only as good as your last game as the saying goes.
Steve Clarke has realised now if he did not know before that Scotland fans have short memories and little room for forgiveness following an abject display against the Republic of Ireland.
Saturday’s 3-0 Nations League defeat in Dublin was Clarke’s lowest point.
Losing the World Cup play-off semi-final to Ukraine hurt but shipping three goals to a team which had never won a Nations League match and was without a win in 12 international matches was horrendous.
This was an Ireland team in transition, one which had lost its two opening Nations League matches including a 1-0 loss in Armenia.
Few expected Scotland to be beaten on Saturday. Even less expected the manner in how the team lost the game.
It was shambolic and inexplicable.
How could a team which looked to be making progress after years in the international wilderness produce a display every bit as lethargic and limp as any of the nightmare results which have cost several of those who came before Clarke their job?
Make no mistake, that’s where Clarke is at now.
He’s at an international crossroads after the Tartan Army made their feelings known at the end of a morale-sapping and utterly dejecting display in Dublin.
Tartan Army has grown weary of accepting mediocrity
Two defeats in three matches is all it has taken to lose the goodwill qualification for Euro 2020 had generated.
That’s the problem with a little bit of success. It makes you hungry for more and Scotland fans, after years of watching from home, are not willing to accept last summer’s participation in the Euros as an exception.
It needs to be the norm.
Sadly it will not be as long as results like the one against the Irish are happening.
Clarke has always been a dour, pragmatic figure. When his teams lose Clarke can come across as reluctant to discuss what went wrong or even worse be adversarial at times.
That may be fine in club management but in international football when you are carrying the hopes of the nation you are accountable to them more than your employer and the fans want answers.
In fact those answers are not enough, they need reassurances days like this one won’t be repeated.
There can be no repeat of Irish capitulation
There are mitigating circumstances. It is the end of a long and challenging season for some of the members of the squad.
It is to be expected some are feeling jaded by the schedule.
After all, they are men, not machines and we still have one more game to go before this season can officially be laid to rest.
But some below-par performances are one thing. An entire team off the pace is another matter entirely and that is what we all watched on Saturday.
When you take the emotion out of the performance it seems churlish to be talking about a manager being under pressure given what Clarke has accomplished.
But international football tugs at the heart strings in a different way to the club game and putting that emotion to one side is easier said than done for some.
What is clear, however, is Tuesday’s game in Armenia has become one of the must-win variety for Scotland and their manager.
A drama will escalate into a full-blown crisis if Scotland slump again.
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