Steve Clarke sounded the battle cry for a World Cup charge to Qatar by warning his stars the country can’t spend another 24 years stuck in the global wilderness.
Clarke kicks off the bid to reach next year’s finals with a Group F opener against Austria on Thursday night, followed by a trip to Israel and a visit from the Faroes over the next six days.
And after leading his team to a first major finals since France 98 by qualifying for this summer’s Euro 2020, the Scotland manager is in the mood to make up for lost time.
He said: “It would be special for everybody if we could get to a World Cup. We want to be consistently successful.
“We don’t just want to qualify for one tournament, rest on our laurels then wait another 24 years. I will be in my 80s if we have to wait that long.
“I would much rather qualify for the next one coming up, so that is the target – Qatar 2022.”
And Clarke knows the key to qualification to a second successive tournament is likely to be from securing a flying start to the section, with a win over the Austrians the first box to tick.
He said: “They are seeded above us in the group, so that should tell you they are a good team. They probably rely more on their strength as a team.
“We expect a tough game as I’m sure they will be too.”
