sport news Clarke hails his 'fantastic' players after Scotland seal promotion to top tier ... trends now
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Steve Clarke hailed his Scotland heroes after they secured Nations League glory against Ukraine in Krakow.
Beset by all manner of injury and illness problems in the build-up, the Scots fought magnificently despite being down to the bare bones. Clarke lavished praise on the defensive heroics of Ryan Porteous and Jack Hendry, in particular, branding the pair ‘outstanding’.
Hibs star Porteous, handed an international debut, was immense at the back alongside Hendry as Scotland clinched the point they needed to win their group.
Scotland boss Steve Clarke celebrates with John McGinn following the draw in Ukraine
They are now promoted to Group A and have the safety net of a play-off for Euro 2024 to fall back on.
They will also go into Pot Two for the main European qualifying draw — and Clarke was delighted with the effort shown by his players.
‘We wanted to show people that what happened in the summer wasn’t us’, he said in reference to defeats to Ukraine and the Republic of Ireland in the World Cup play-offs and Nations League respectively.
‘We wanted to be better this week. We pressed a big button to reset. Three
