STEVE CLARKE has urged his Scotland players not to PANIC their way out of World Cup contention.
Clarke reckons his men were too anxious in their nervy win over Belarus at Hampden last month.
And he has called for calm heads in Greece with his team needing a point to keep alive their qualification hopes.
Clarke said: “The players knew the stakes were so high last time, which is maybe why they probably panicked a little bit during the Belarus game.
“They maybe lost sight of what they were actually trying to do which was win the game comfortably.
“Look, I spoke right at the very start with the first couple of squads I picked.
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“I talked about getting experience into the squad and taking that experience onto the pitch at this level.
“And I think you could see, in the games we didn’t play quite so well in at home, we managed to find a way to win.
“That’s a really good thing to have in your locker.
“But the players have been good this week.
“They were quite relaxed when we were training over in Turkey.
“Most of them now have a lot of experience of big games and know what to expect and how best to prepare so they can perform at their maximum.
“You have to trust the players that they are going to get things right on the pitch.”
Clarke faces a major decision on who to play in goal against the Greeks with Craig Gordon, Liam Kelly and Scott Bain all battling to start.
Only Bain is playing regular first team football this season.
But veteran Gordon, 42, could get the nod.
Clarke added: “Craig is good. Liam is the same, despite not playing at Rangers but working ever so hard and training great.
“Scott Bain has come into the squad and shown that he’s benefitted from coming out of Celtic as the third goalkeeping and playing at Falkirk every week.
“No, it’s been good. Chris Woods has been happy with the three of them.
“I’ll make my decision on who I feel is the best for the team on the night.
“Look, you know me, I never talk about the team.
“The players won’t know the team officially because I never tidy it up until the day of the game. But they will have a fair idea.”
Napoli’s Billy Gilmour is ruled out of the clash with an injury.
He could return for the clash with Denmark on Tuesday night
But Clarke added: “I haven’t thought about it.
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“I have been dealing with this game. The second game will take care of itself after this one.
“The medical staff are liaising with the Napoli people. I will know a little bit more after the game tomorrow probably and will be able to tell you the next time I speak to you on Monday.”
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