Scotland v Armenia

SCOTLAND V 

ARMENIA 

Wednesday, 8 June 2022 

7.45pm 

Hampden Park 

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OFFICE BEARERS: 

President 

Rod Petrie 

Chief executive 

Ian Maxwell 

Vice-president 

Mike Mulraney 

Programme produced on 

behalf of the Scottish FA by 

Ignition Sports Media 

ignitionsportsmedia.com 

Production: David Middleton 

Photography: 

SNS Pix, PA Images 

Commissioning Editor: 

Ronnie Esplin 

Managing Editor: 

Ross MacDonald-Allan 

Please note that the views 

expressed in this programme 

do not necessarily reflect 

those of the Scottish FA. 

The Scottish Football 

Association Limited is a 

private company limited 

by guarantee, registered in 

Scotland, with its registered 

office at Hampden Park, 

Glasgow G42 9AY and 

company number SC005453. 

IN THIS ISSUE... 

04 / MANAGER’S WELCOME 

Steve Clarke looks forward to a 

new Nations League campaign 

06 / BACK ON THE HORSE 

Scotland are looking to 

gallop out of the stalls in their 

Nations League campaign 

12 / LOOKING FOR 

THE NEXT HIGH 

Billy Gilmour is determined 

to ensure Scotland’s recent 

dip was a one-off 

18 / ON THIS DATE 

Scotland 2-1 Cyprus 

(European Championship 

qualifier: 8 June 2019) 

20 / YOU’RE HISTORY 

The visiting manager recalls 

a special previous trip to 

Glasgow and savours a 

Hampden Park debut 

26 / ARMENIA IN NUMBERS 

28 / ‘THIS IS FOR US: TOGETHER’ 

A stirring speech from a Scot 

still drives tonight’s visitors 

34 / ALLAN CAMPBELL Q & A 

It’s been a memorable season 

for the Luton Town midfielder 

40 / THE REWARDS ARE CLEAR 

One of Steve Clarke’s coaches 

helped fire Scotland to Nations 

League success four years ago 

44 / A NATIONS LEAGUE AGAIN 

Scotland know all about the 

rewards this tournament can offer 

50 / MOMENT IN TIME 

Scotland 1-0 Czech Republic 

(14 October, 2020) 

52 / FINISHING SCHOOL 

FOR MANAGERS 

The latest batch of Pro Licence 

students will graduate tonight 

56 / A BUMP IN THE ROAD 

Scotland are looking to show they 

are still moving forward despite 

World Cup disappointment 

61 / ON A RECCE WITH REEKY 

Fan Steve McCorquodale 

recounts a previous trip to 

Armenia on Scotland duty 

66 / TONIGHT’S SQUADS 

MATCH OFFICIALS 

Referee: 

Sebastian Gishamer (AUT) 

Assistant referees: 

Maximilian Weiss (AUT) 

Jasmin Sabanovic (AUT) 

4th official: 

Christopher Jaeger (AUT) 

Video Assistant Referee: 

Felix Zwayer (GER) 

HAMPDEN PARK / WEDNESDAY, 8 JUNE 2022 

SCOTLAND v ARMENIA / 3

HAMPDEN PARK / WEDNESDAY, 8 JUNE 2022 SCOTLAND v ARMENIA / 4

MANAGER’S WELCOME 

Good evening and welcome to Hampden Park. 

Tonight marks the start of a new Nations 

League campaign - one that we hope 

will bear as much fruit for us as the 

last one that led us to Euro 2020. 

This evening’s game officially begins a new 

qualification campaign because, although 

the Nations League is a competition in itself, 

it is also a potential route to Euro 2024. 

It is also a chance to move on from our 

disappointing exit from the FIFA World 

Cup play-offs at the hands of Ukraine. 

Last autumn we put ourselves in a good 

position with some very good performances 

to achieve that, but credit must go to Ukraine 

who were the better side on the night. 

It is an ambition of mine to lead this squad 

to a World Cup, but the best way to put 

the result against Ukraine behind us is 

to not let it affect what is ahead of us. 

I believe that this group of players is young 

enough and talented enough to qualify for 

another major tournament, starting tonight 

as we begin our journey to UEFA Euro 2024. 

Everyone in the squad knows how important 

the Nations League is to us since it was 

instrumental in our qualification for Euro 2020. 

Our immediate goal is to win the group, which 

would not only secure promotion to the top 

tier of the Nations League, but also provide 

the safety net of a play-off spot for Euro 2024 

and improve our seeding for the qualification 

campaign for the tournament next year. 

I have said previously that one of my 

targets was to improve our seeding 

for future qualification campaigns. If 

winning this Nations League group were 

to help move us up to second seeds for 

the qualification campaign next year, 

then that would be a huge boost for our 

chances of automatic qualification. 

We know that this objective will not be easy, 

however, with all three opponents in our 

group formidable. While tonight’s opponents, 

Armenia, represent a step into the unknown, 

having never faced them before, we saw in 

their victory over the Republic of Ireland last 

week that they must not be underestimated. 

They will pose a threat and we must be 

at the top of our game to ensure that this 

campaign starts on a positive note. 

We have managed to put together two 

unbeaten runs in the past two years, going 

nine unbeaten prior to Euro 2020 and 

eight unbeaten prior to last week’s result. 

A similar run will see us achieve success 

in the Nations League, starting tonight. 

I hope the fans are out in numbers and 

that you get behind the team from start 

to finish. I know you would all have been 

as disappointed as myself, the players 

and my backroom staff after last week, 

but your backing in recent matches has 

made a huge difference to the players. 

The best way forward is for everyone 

to stick together. If that happens, 

then I’m confident that we can go on 

to achieve success as a nation. 

Enjoy the game. 

HAMPDEN PARK / WEDNESDAY, 8 1 JUNE 2022 


HAMPDEN PARK / WEDNESDAY, 8 JUNE 2022 SCOTLAND v ARMENIA / 6 

› › › 

BACK 

ON THE 

HORSE 

SCOTLAND ARE LOOKING TO 

GALLOP OUT OF THE STALLS IN 

THEIR NATIONS LEAGUE CAMPAIGN 

WORDS: MICHAEL GRANT, THE TIMES

› › › 



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The time has come 

to saddle up. A new 

race begins against 

Armenia at Hampden 

Park tonight and, as the 

manager has said, Scotland 

must get back on the horse. 

At the end of a long and gruelling 

season it is a fresh start and 

the opening of a new chapter. 

There isn’t a player, coach, 

staff member or supporter who 

doesn’t still feel some hurt and 

disappointment about going out 

of the World Cup to Ukraine last 

week. The pain was real and it 

will linger but there is nothing 

to be gained from prolonged 

moping. As Steve Clarke said 

within minutes of the play-off 

semi-final defeat: “We’ll feel sorry 

for ourselves, we’ll analyse the 

game, and then we’ll get back 

on the horse and go again.” 

So tonight that is what everyone 

must do. The World Cup will go 

ahead without Scotland - and 

it will be a poignant watch for 

the Tartan Army when the finals 

come around in November. By 

the time it happens the whole 

Nations League campaign, which 

begins tonight, will have come 

and gone too. Six games against 

Armenia, the Republic of Ireland 

and, of course, Ukraine again. 

Supporters are slowly getting 

used to the Nations League and 

gradually coming to appreciate 

its place and its significance. 

How could they not, when 

Scotland winning their inaugural 

group with Israel and Albania 

in 2018 secured the play-off 

place which eventually led to 

those unforgettable penalty 

shoot-out triumphs against 

Israel and Serbia, qualification 

for Euro 2020 and the end of 

the agonising 23-year wait to 

make it to a major tournament? 

Coming top in that first crack at 

the Nations League also secured 

promotion from League C to B - a 

tangible sign of progress - and 

a 2020/21 campaign against 

the Czech Republic, Israel and 

Slovakia. Scotland finished 

second behind the Czechs. 

The Nations League already 

has been good for Scotland and 

it can be again. Winning this 

group would secure the safety 

net of a play-off for Euro 2024 




before the regular qualification 

campaign for that begins next 

year. It would also likely secure a 

place among the second seeds 

for Euro 2024 qualifying and if 

Scotland were to then finish to 

that seeding, ie in the top two, 

they would guarantee a place at 

the finals in Germany without the 

stress of needing a play-off at all. 

With FIFA rankings of 27 

(Ukraine) and 47 (Republic of 

Ireland) it seems obvious where 

the main dangers are to Scotland 

in this latest Nations League, 

but it is the team sitting at 92nd 

which arrives in Glasgow top of 

the table with only one game 

played so far in section B1. 

Clarke and his staff have had to 

take a crash course on Armenia. 

Not only have these countries 

never met on a football field, 

Armenia’s last two results are 

wildly conflicting. In March they 

were mowed down 9-0 in a 

friendly against Norway in Oslo 

when Erling Haaland scored 

twice before being substituted 

at half-time. But that awful 

battering shaped how they 

played in their next game against 

the Irish in Yerevan last Saturday. 

Coach Joaquín Caparrós’ tactics 

were understandably defensive 

but that gave them a foothold in 

the game and in the second half 

they grew in confidence, began 

to push Ireland back and scored 

a wonderful winner from the 

talented 21-year-old midfielder 

Eduard Spertsyan, who plays 

with Krasnodar in Russia. 

In experienced attacking 

midfielder Tigran Barseghyan of 

Slovan Bratislava in Slovakia - 

their top scorer with eight goals 

from 47 caps - and playmaker 

Khoren Bayramyan of Rostov 

in Russia, they had others who 

might also trouble Scotland. 

And let no-one at Hampden 

be in any doubt about the 

confidence coursing through the 

visitors. “It’s one of the greatest 

victories of the Armenian 

football team,” said Caparrós 

after the Irish were beaten. 

Ironically that came after the 

country’s most famous footballer, 

Henrikh Mkhitaryan, announced 

his international retirement in 

March. The former Borussia 

Dortmund, Manchester United 

and Arsenal star, now with Roma, 

called it a day aged 33 after 32 

WINNING THIS 

GROUP WOULD 

SECURE THE 

SAFETY NET 

OF A PLAY-OFF 

FOR EURO 

2024 BEFORE 

THE REGULAR 

QUALIFICATION 

CAMPAIGN FOR 

THAT BEGINS 

NEXT YEAR

IT IS HUGELY 

IMPORTANT TO 

START ANOTHER 

CAMPAIGN WITH 

A WIN AND ALSO 

TO REWARD THE 

TARTAN ARMY, 

WHICH WILL BE 

BACK ON THE 

HAMPDEN SLOPES 

HOPING FOR GOALS 

AND THREE POINTS 

AFTER LAST 

WEEK’S BLOW 

goals, 95 appearances and six 

years as captain of his country. 

Going out of the World Cup felt 

like an end for Scotland of course 

but much has been made of the 

club mentality fostered during 

Clarke’s management and every 

club must quickly pick itself 

up and go again after a major 

setback. Captain Andy Robertson 

and his team have to do exactly 

that when they get back on the 

horse tonight. Kieran Tierney, 

Nathan Patterson and Ryan Jack 

were unavailable last midweek 

and Lyndon Dykes was forced to 

withdraw a few days later. But 

Clarke picked a 28-man squad in 

the expectation of such setbacks. 

The likes of John Souttar, Jack 

Hendry, Scott McKenna, Stephen 

O’Donnell and Jacob Brown are 

all among the options if Clarke 

chooses to refresh things, but 

perhaps this is a time for letting 

last week’s beaten side play 

out its disappointment by going 

again. It is hugely important to 

start another campaign with 

a win and also to reward the 

Tartan Army, which will be 

back on the Hampden slopes 

hoping for goals and three 

points after last week’s blow. 

Scotland face the Republic of 

Ireland in Dublin on Saturday 

evening and then Armenia 

again in the heat of Yerevan 

next Tuesday, when the curtain 

will finally come down on a 

season which will have featured 

an incredible 13 international 

fixtures since Euro 2020. 

But this is day one of a journey 

which could end with Scotland 

making it to Germany in the 

summer of 2024. Only once 

have we ever qualified for 

two consecutive European 

Championships - Euro ‘92 and 

Euro ‘96 under Andy Roxburgh 

and then Craig Brown - and 

now we know that Clarke has 

lost none of his desire to be 

the first manager since Brown 

to take the country to a World 

Cup. After the Ukraine loss he 

told the players he could only 

be confident of still being the 

boss by 2026 if they first helped 

him qualify for Euro 2024. 

So shake off the disappointment, 

lift the heads and get the horses 

out. It’s time to ride again. 




SCOTLAND v ARMENIA / 12 

LOOKING FOR 

THE NEXT HIGH 

Billy Gilmour is determined to ensure 

Scotland’s recent dip was a one-off 

WORDS: SCOTT McDERMOTT, SUNDAY MAIL 

Billy Gilmour barely looks big 

enough to go on a theme park 

thrill ride. But right now, he’s 

on a Scotland journey that 

has started off with highs and 

lows, and twists and turns. 

And to be fair to the Chelsea 

youngster, he’s stood as tall as 

anyone in Steve Clarke’s squad 

throughout a topsy-turvy spell for 

the national side. 

Gilmour burst on to the scene 

just in time to be part of Euro 

2020 - the first major tournament 

Scotland had qualified for in 23 

years. 

His performance against England 

at Wembley in the 0-0 group 

phase draw was a major high 

point, both for Gilmour and an 

adoring Tartan Army. 

The 20-year-old has become an 

integral part of Clarke’s team. 

The partnership he has forged 

with Callum McGregor at the heart 

of our midfield has been a key 

factor in some of Scotland’s most 

impressive recent displays. 

But life as a footballer is rarely a 

permanent upward curve. 

Gilmour found that out to his cost 

last week as Clarke’s men suffered 

a painful 3-1 defeat to Ukraine at 

Hampden in the World Cup playoff 

semi-final. 

Like every player in a dark blue 

shirt, he came off the pitch 

devastated at missing out on a 

crack at Qatar 2022. 

But Gilmour has an old head on 

young shoulders.



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For a long time, he’s been mature 

beyond his years and the boy from 

Ardrossan is as humble as they 

come. 

Even at club level, he’s enjoyed 

the positivity of his Chelsea 

breakthrough and one particularly 

eye-catching cameo against 

Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. 

Yet last season, while on loan 

at Carrow Road, he was part of 

a Norwich City outfit who were 

relegated from the Premier League. 

So Gilmour is getting used to those 

twists and turns, highs and lows. 

And his level-headed nature will be 

vital in ensuring he recovers from 

the blow of that Ukraine loss to 

focus on Scotland’s next challenge - 

a Nations League campaign which 

kicks off against Armenia. 

Gilmour said: “We need to bounce 

back now. Football is like a 

rollercoaster, there are always ups 

and downs. 

“But we need to make sure we’re 

ready for Armenia, put in a good 

performance and hopefully get 

three points. 

“This is when you will see the 

characters we have in the squad. 

We’ve got some experienced 

players and, for some of the younger 

boys, this is new to us. We’re all 

helping each other to get through. 

“The Ukraine game was a sore 

one to take but now we need to 

concentrate on these Nations 

League games. On the night, 

Ukraine were the better team and 

we never played to the level we’ve 

played at in the past. 

“We all know what we’re capable 

of and we want a positive start 

against Armenia to show that we 

can move on. We have to pick 

ourselves up, we can’t feel sorry 

for ourselves because of one result. 

We have three important matches 

coming up that we want to do well 

in. 

“We will always be confident 

because we know how good a 

WE WILL 

ALWAYS BE 

CONFIDENT 

BECAUSE WE 

KNOW HOW 

GOOD A TEAM 

WE ARE, WITH 

GOOD PLAYERS 




team we are, with good players. 

When we perform, we do really 

well and we can get good results. 

Hopefully we can prove that again 

in these games coming up.” 

Scotland were excellent for most 

of the World Cup qualifying 

campaign - a 2-0 victory over 

Denmark at Hampden cemented 

our place in the play-offs. 

Ultimately, they fell short in their 

11th game, which denied them a 

final against Wales in Cardiff. 

But as Clarke and his players 

discovered two years ago, the 

Nations League can also lead to 

glory. Who can forget the penalty 

shoot-out win in Serbia that got us 

to Euro 2020? 

And this campaign could yield 

a similar reward with a place at 

the European Championship in 

Germany up for grabs in 2024. 

Gilmour is fully aware of what’s at 

stake. 

He said: “We know that is a route 

to the Euros. It’s a good chance 

that we can take and that’s what 

we’re hoping to do. 

“We have a good enough squad 

to qualify, we have great players 

in this team. And for myself, I 

really want to go to tournaments 

with Scotland. For everyone in 

the camp, players, coaching staff, 

supporters, the ambition is to 

qualify for big tournaments. 

“This is a fresh campaign now and 

we’re all focused on these Nations 

League games. We can’t change 

what has happened in the past, 

we need to move on. 

“This can set us off in the right 

direction for the future. We were 

on a good run before Ukraine, 

unbeaten in eight games. We 

wanted to continue that but 

we need to go again now, pick 

ourselves up and start another 

unbeaten run.” 

These games, against Armenia 

twice and Republic of Ireland, 

are part of a hectic schedule for 

international players at the end of 

a gruelling season. But Gilmour will 

never baulk at pulling on a Scotland 

shirt at any time of the year. 

He expects tough games against 

the Armenians and Irish - but is 

determined to pick up maximum 

points. 

The Chelsea playmaker said: “I’m 

new to this but I’m really enjoying 

it. I love coming away to play for 

my country, it’s always a proud 

moment to represent Scotland and 

when I’m out on the pitch, I give 

my all. Every time I play, I want to 

do Scotland proud. 

“We all do, and we want to get 

three wins from these games. 

Every match will be difficult so we 

need to make sure we’re at it. 

“We’ve been watching Armenia 

and working on the best ways to 

break them down. They’re a hard 

team to play against, they’re well 

organised and have good players. 

So we need to make sure we don’t 

get frustrated and stay patient. 

“At Hampden, hopefully the Tartan 

Army will keep supporting us 

because we can hear them. Our 

fans have been great so far, they 

just need to continue that. 

“We’re ready to go again and 

hopefully they’re as loud as 

possible.” 

I LOVE COMING 

AWAY TO 

PLAY FOR MY 

COUNTRY, 

IT’S ALWAYS 

A PROUD 

MOMENT TO 

REPRESENT 

SCOTLAND 




SCOTLAND 2 

CYPRUS 1 

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP 

QUALIFYING | 8 JUNE 2019 

Steve Clarke started his era as 

Scotland boss on a winning note 

thanks to a late winner against 

Cyprus at Hampden Park on this 

date three years ago. 

Captain Andy Robertson’s 

stunning opener on the hour 

mark was cancelled out with 

three minutes remaining when 

Ionnis Kousoulos headed in from 

a corner. 

Yet substitute Oliver Burke 

provided the winner just 138 

seconds later with his first 

international goal, as the Scots 

secured a dramatic win to remain 

level with Russia in European 

Championship Qualifying Group I 

and stretch their unbeaten run on 

home soil to nine games.




YOU’RE 

HISTORY 

The visiting manager recalls 

a special previous trip to 

Glasgow and savours a 

Hampden debut 

Armenia manager Joaquín 

Caparros paid homage to 

Scotland and Hampden 

Park ahead of tonight’s 

Nations League fixture at 

the national stadium. 

A piece of football history will 

be made as it is the first time 

the two countries have faced 

each other at international level. 

The 66-year-old has vast 

managerial experience with a 

host of clubs including Deportivo 

La Coruna, Villarreal, Real 

Mallorca and Athletic Bilbao 

in Spain, Neuchâtel Xamax in 

Switzerland, Al Ahli in Qatar, as 

well as the Andalusia national 

team, before he took over as 

Armenia boss in March 2020. 

Caparros also has experience 

of football in Glasgow as 

he was Sevilla manager 

when the Spanish side faced 

› 

Celtic 

› 

in Henrik 

› 

Larsson’s 

farewell game at Parkhead. 

However, despite a lifetime 

in the game, the Spaniard



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is excited by Armenia’s 

inaugural fixture against the 

Scots and with the match 

being played at Hampden. 

“Really, Scotland is a history 

of football,” he said. “All the 

people who love this sport 

know that this country is one 

of the pioneers to invent and 

create football. And we must be 

grateful to Scotland for that. 

“Of course, we are looking 

forward to playing at such 

a legendary stadium as 

Hampden Park. Certainly, 

the stadium combines many 

historical values as well as a 

lot of emotions, which is very 

important for spectators. 

“We will try to demonstrate 

a strong team performance, 

knowing our deficits. But we 

have a great desire to play 

at a such a mythical stadium 

with a such an atmosphere.” 

Caparros recalled taking his 

Seville side to Celtic Park on 25 

May, 2005 where legendary 

Swedish striker Larsson bid 

farewell to the Celtic fans 

after his testimonial match 

with the Spanish side, which 

ended 1-0 to the home side 

in a game played in front 

of a packed stadium. 

He said: “I was Sevilla’s head 

coach and we were facing 

Celtic and I was greatly 

impressed with the atmosphere 

dominating at the stadium. 

It was a nice experience. I 

noticed that all the spectators 

were in the team’s shirt. 

“And in this regard I can 

recall one story: after that 

Sevilla’s management 

organised our fans to come to 

a game in Sevilla’s shirts.” 

Just over 18 years later, Caparros 

is back in Glasgow looking to 

build on Armenia’s stunning 

start to Group B1, which saw 

them beat the Republic of 

Ireland 1-0 on Saturday. 

Scotland go into the game on 

the back of their disappointing 




2022 World Cup play-off 

exit to Ukraine last week. 

Hampden was packed to the 

rafters with the Tartan Army in 

expectation but it all fell flat in 

a 3-1 defeat, leaving the Scots 

having not qualified for a World 

Cup since France in 1998. 

However, Caparros has huge 

regard for Steve Clarke and 

his squad who, before the 

Ukraine defeat, had gone 

eight games unbeaten. 

He said: “I rate this team highly 

enough. The national team 

of Scotland always show 

strong team performance 

and dedication. It’s clear 

that they do good work. 

“I stress they accomplish 

very important work and one 

should evaluate it according to 

merit, regardless of the result 

in the clash with Ukraine.” 

Caparros guided Armenia to 

top spot of their four-team 

Nations League Group C2 in 

2020/21, with three wins and 

two draws, which meant they 

were promoted to Group B. 

Armenia, currently 92nd in FIFA’s 

rankings, finished with 11 points, 

two ahead of North Macedonia, 

four ahead of Georgia and 

eight ahead of Estonia. 

Yet, they got off to the worst 

possible start with a 2-1 defeat 

away to North Macedonia. 

After beating Estonia in the 

Vazgen Sargsyan Republican 

Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia’s 

game against Georgia, which 

ended in a 2-2 draw, was 

moved to the Municipal Stadium 

The then Athletico Bilbao boss 

Joaquin Caparros at Celtic 

Park in 2011 (top), Sargis 

Adamyan celebrates scoring 

against Georgia in 2020

in Tychy, Poland, due to the 

Nagorno-Karabakh war. 

Likewise, the Armenia v North 

Macedonia match, originally 

scheduled to be played in 

Yerevan, was relocated to the 

GSP Stadium in Nicosia, after 

UEFA announced that they 

were temporarily suspending 

all UEFA matches taking place 

in Armenia and Azerbaijan 

until further notice due to the 

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. 

Caparros admitted the 

ramifications of a successful 

group campaign went 

further than football. 

“It was an important success 

and not only for Armenia but 

also for that moment,” he 

said. “We recorded this result 

in a difficult and complicated 

situation for the country. 

It was gladness for all the 

Armenian people and for us. 

“At the moment Armenian 

football is trying to progress 

and go ahead and I am talking 

about the Armenian national 

leagues as well. The federation, 

for its part, is doing its utmost 

to contribute to this process.” 

Nevertheless, Caparros is 

cautious when assessing the 

expectations of the Armenia 

supporters in this Nations 

League competition. 

He said: “Our goal is to go from 

match to match, focusing our 

attention in every next game 

and at the end the result will 

show what we were able to 

obtain. I repeat that we must 

concentrate on every next duel. 

“We understand that our rivals 

have much history and many 

world-class footballers playing 

in important European leagues. 

“Our team should face every 

game with the maximum 

enthusiasm. Our aim is to 

bring joy to our fans.” 

Armenia stars Khoren 

Bayramyan and 

Kamo Hovhannisyan 

OUR GOAL IS TO 

GO FROM MATCH 

TO MATCH, 

FOCUSING OUR 

ATTENTION IN 

EVERY NEXT 

GAME AND AT 

THE END THE 

RESULT WILL 

SHOW WHAT 

WE WERE ABLE 

TO OBTAIN 




133 

ARMENIA 

IN NUMBERS 

92 

Current FIFA 

ranking 

Armenia 

have never 

qualified 

for a major 

tournament 

Top goalscorer 

in current 

squad: Tigran 

8Barseghyan 

Most-capped player: 

Sargis Hovsepyan

Armenia’s 

first 

international 

was 0–0 

against 

Moldova 

7Biggest win: 

Armenia 7–1 

Guatemala 

(2016) 

1992 

Most capped 

player in current 

squad: Kamo 

Hovhannisyan 

Scottish manager 

Ian Porterfield 

became Armenia 

manager for just over 

a year before he died 

67 

32 

Biggest 

All-time top 

goalscorer: 

Henrikh 

Mkhitaryan 

2006 

defeat 

Norway 9–0 

Armenia 

9(March 2022) 




‘THIS IS 

FOR US: 

TOGETHER’ 

A stirring speech from a Scot still 

drives tonight’s visiting team 

WORDS: GRAEME McGARRY, HERALD AND TIMES 

› › ›



Based on figures from April 2021-March 2022. Players must be 18+.

For most football fans around the world, 

the mention of Armenia conjures up the 

image of just one man, Henrikh Mkhitaryan. 

But as impressive as the former Manchester 

United and Arsenal star’s career at 

the top level has been, there is more 

to Armenian football than the gifted 

AS Roma playmaker, who retired from 

international football earlier this year. 

For Scotland, tonight’s match represents 

something of a step into the unknown, 

with the two nations facing off 

against one another for the first time 

since Armenia gained independence 

from the Soviet Union in 1991. 

The Football Federation of Armenia 

was established early the next year, 

and the newly-formed national side 

played their first match in October 1992, 

a goalless draw against Moldova. 

Steve Clarke’s men have had other 

things on their mind in the run-up to 

this UEFA Nations League encounter, of 

course, but the Scotland manager will no 

doubt have impressed upon his players 

just how far this emerging nation have 

come from those humble beginnings. 

While Armenian greats you may not 

have necessarily heard of such as Eduard 

Markarov and Khoren Oganesian helped 

to get the national team off the ground, 

it was in fact a Scot who helped to move 

them up to the next level, and led them 

to some of their most famous results. 

Ian Porterfield, the former Raith Rovers, 

Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday 

midfielder who famously scored the 

winner in the 1973 FA Cup Final for 

the Wearside club, took over the role 

as Armenia head coach in 2006. 

The former Aberdeen manager would 

prove to be a huge success. Along with 

English assistant manager Tom Jones, 

he had identified that a mentality shift 

was required if Armenia were to arrest 

a period of poor form, where the sole 

objective had seemed simply to be the 

achievement of respectable defeats. 

The shift in emphasis paid off immediately, 

with Porterfield leading Armenia to shock 

victories over Kazakhstan and Poland, but 

it was a draw that would prove perhaps 

his most famous accomplishment, as 

his men managed to hold the mighty 

Portugal - Cristiano Ronaldo and all 

- to a 1-1 draw in August 2007. 




Sadly, Porterfield was by that time gravely 

ill with colon cancer and had been forced 

to return to England for treatment for 

several months prior to the game. 

“I want to be with my team and 

to try to fight against such strong 

opponents despite everything,” 

Porterfield said prior to the game. 

He did make it, flying to Yerevan two 

days before the match to lead his men 

to an incredible result. Jones remembers 

his stirring address on the field of play 

prior to the match that became an iconic 

moment in Armenian footballing history. 

“It was the day before the Portugal game, 

we’d just finished our training session for 

the day at the stadium,” Jones said. 

“All the media were there and everyone 

could see that Ian was struggling. He 

had a colostomy bag and god knows 

what else. He could barely stand. 

“Then he got everybody together in the 

middle of the pitch and he said ‘link hands’. 

He got everybody with hands up in the air 

and he said, ‘This. This is for us. Together.’” 

Sadly, Porterfield would pass away just 

three weeks after the match, as his team 

were preparing for a friendly against 

Cyprus, which they subsequently lost 3-1. 

But from their sorrow, a steely resolve 

would emerge to not allow the foundations 

that Porterfield had put in place to be 

eroded, and to build upon them in order 

to allow the Armenian team to flourish. 

Jones took caretaker charge and emulated 

his late boss’s pre-match on-field address 

to inspire the nation ahead of their next 

competitive fixture, a home game against 

Serbia a month after Porterfield’s passing. 

He said: “I got them all out on the pitch 

before kick-off, we got together in a circle 

and we raised our hands together and 

we said, ‘This is for us.’ The stadium went 

absolutely berserk. Everyone in that ground 

was completely together, behind us and 

in memory of Ian. It was incredible. We 

drew 0-0 but it should have been 10-0.” 

Jones was however overlooked for the top 

job on a permanent basis, with the Armenian 

Federation opting to place a Dane, Jan 

Poulsen, in charge. His was an unremarkable 

tenure though, and not until Vardan 

Minasyan - a former assistant manager 

- was handed the reins in 2009 that the 

promise of Porterfield’s work was realised.

While Armenia have never qualified for 

a major tournament, they will not come 

much closer than they did for the 2012 

European Championship, when they 

almost defied the odds to gatecrash 

the big stage for the first time. 

In a qualifying group containing Russia, 

Slovakia and the Republic of Ireland, 

the Armenians would twice defeat the 

Slovakians convincingly on their way 

to scoring the most goals in the group, 

and set themselves up for a final-day 

shoot-out in Dublin for a play-off spot. 

In a hugely controversial encounter, Ireland 

would edge the Armenians 2-1, but only 

after goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky was 

incorrectly ordered off for handling the ball 

outside of his area after half an hour. Replays 

showed the ball had struck his chest. 

The Football Federation of Armenia 

unsuccessfully appealed to have the match 

replayed, Spanish referee Eduardo Gonzalez 

offered his resignation, and the Armenian 

team returned home as national heroes. 

Sadly, that was the high watermark for 

Minasyan, and after a disappointing few 

years that culminated in a last-placed 

finish in their Nations League Group D 

in 2019, he was relieved of his duties. 

However, hope now springs eternal. 

Armenia, under Spanish coach Joaquín 

Caparrós, have managed to gain 

promotion to Nations League Group B, 

coming through a section including North 

Macedonia, Georgia and Estonia. 

Their bid to make the World Cup in 

Qatar also got off to a hugely positive 

start, defeating Liechtenstein, Iceland 

and Romania to top a qualification 

group - which included Germany - 

for the first time in their history. 

They could not maintain those levels though, 

finally finishing fourth, but they showed 

enough against higher-ranked opposition 

to suggest they can certainly cause anyone 

problems on their day - Scotland included. 

The Tartan Army may be relieved 

to hear though that in March, 

Mkhitaryan finally called it a day at 

international level at the age of 33. 

But Armenia started their Nations 

League campaign with victory over 

Ireland and, with Porterfield’s mantra of 

togetherness still ringing in their ears, 

Scotland will know that their opposition 

this evening cannot be taken lightly. 

Top left: Armenia v Portugal in 2007. Below: Armenia played 

Germany for the first time during the 2022 World Cup qualifiers 




ALLAN 

CAMPBELL 

It’s been a memorable season 

for Luton Town midfielder 

Allan Campbell. 

The 23-year-old has been at the heart 

of the Championship side this season 

and their remarkable run to the play-off 

semi-final. 

One of the most capped Scotland players at 

Under-21 level, Campbell has now seen his club 

form and commitment to his country rewarded 

with a well-earned call up from Steve Clarke to 

join the A squad for a busy summer of football. 

WORDS: LEWIS IRONS, SCOTTISH FA 



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IT’S ALWAYS 

BEEN A DREAM 

OF MINE TO 

REPRESENT 

MY COUNTRY 

AT THIS LEVEL 

AND NOW I’VE 

BEEN GIVEN AN 

OPPORTUNITY 

TO SHOW WHAT 

I CAN DO IN 

TRAINING... 

Q 

Allan, you’re in Steve 

Clarke’s squad for the 

first time - how does it feel? 

A 

It’s an amazing feeling 

getting the call. It’s always 

been a dream of mine to 

represent my country at this 

level and now I’ve been given an 

opportunity to show what I can 

do in training, I’m determined 

to hopefully get that chance. 

Q 

You’re no stranger to 

international football of 

course and the fact you’re the 

third most-capped player at 

Under-21 level shows that. 

How much does it mean to 

you playing for your country? 

A 

It means everything to me. It 

feels obvious to say that but 

for me there aren’t many bigger 

honours in football than playing 

for your country. Every time I 

pulled on the shirt for Scotland 

at Under-21 level it was a proud 

moment, but obviously now I’m 

focused on getting that first cap 

at senior level. Even before that 

though I’m thinking about the 

next session, giving my all and 

soaking up as much as I can 

in training because there are 

so many top, top players in the 

squad that I want to learn from, 

but it also makes me determined 

to show what I can do too. 

Q 

We’re heading in to the first 

of three Nations League 

matches tonight. How has the 

camp been so far, particularly 

after defeat against Ukraine? 

A 

There’s no denying the fact 

there was deflation after the 

defeat against Ukraine. I’ve only 

been around the group for a few 

days but no one will be surprised 

to hear that everyone was 

disappointed not to get the result 

we wanted - that’s football. I 

feel really grateful to be a part 

of this squad, so many who 

played a huge part in getting 

to Euro 2020 and the success 

they’re bringing is incredible. I 

hope to continue to be a part of 

it and as a team hopefully we 

can bring more success. That 

starts tonight against Armenia.. 

Q 

We know just how 

important the Nations 

League can be, as it played 

a major role in getting us 




THERE’S A LOT 

OF COMPETITION 

IN THE SQUAD 

AND A LOT OF 

COMPETITION 

IN CENTRAL 

MIDFIELD, BUT 

THAT’S A GOOD 

THING FOR ME 

AS A PLAYER

ack to a major tournament. 

How crucial is it to get off to 

a good start in this group? 

A 

It’s massive. Not just for the 

group and for the hopes of 

getting to Euro 2024, but for the 

simple fact that you want to get 

back to winning ways as a team 

- it’s as simple as that. The team 

ended 2021 with a brilliant run 

of form and it sounds obvious 

but winning is a habit in football. 

When you go on a good run it 

breeds confidence so that’s the 

priority for any team, to get out 

there and win the next game. 

The Nations League is huge 

as well, as you said. We’ve all 

seen what it can lead to and 

the goal will be to win matches 

and progress up the leagues. 

Q 

It’s been a memorable 

campaign for you at 

Luton, stringing together a 

terrific run of form to reach 

the Championship’s play-offs. 

How much have you enjoyed 

your football this season? 

A 

It’s been a brilliant season 

for us of course but it’s hard 

to take as well when you lose in 

a semi-final. I’m really enjoying 

my football down in Luton and 

hopefully we can build on the 

momentum we put together 

over the course of the season 

to start the next campaign 

in a strong vein of form. 

Q 

How have you settled to 

life off the pitch as well? 

It’s clear you’re someone who 

puts their all in to your career 

and training - you’ve been 

known to have a home gym to 

keep working away from the 

training ground - have you got 

one sorted down the road yet? 

A 

It’s been great, we’ve got a 

good group down there and 

there’s a few Scottish lads as well 

that have helped me settle in. 

Yes I do like working away in 

the gym but I haven’t got one 

in my garage like I used to have 

when I was at Motherwell, but 

that’s because I’m in a flat so 

I’ll need to get a garage first! 

Q 

This will hopefully be the 

first of many call-ups 

for you, but at the moment 

what are your aspirations 

in a Scotland shirt? 

A 

The immediate goal is to get 

a first cap of course. That’s 

all I’m thinking about right now. 

There’s a lot of competition in the 

squad and a lot of competition 

in central midfield, but that’s a 

good thing for me as a player 

because it’s always healthy to be 

pushed on by your team-mates. 

Being around the likes of 

Callum McGregor and John 

McGinn is brilliant for me but 

obviously players in other 

positions like Andy Robertson 

and Craig Gordon, who have 

so much experience, will help 

any player and I want to soak 

up as much of it as I can and 

use it to grow and learn. 

This experience has been 

brilliant for me and I hope it’s 

just the start. It’s up to me 

to show that I can continue 

to be a part of this squad. 




THE 

REWARDS 

ARE CLEAR 

One of Steve Clarke’s coaches 

helped fire Scotland to Nations 

League success four years ago 

› › ›




STEVEN NAISMITH CONCEDES 

THAT THE SCOTLAND PLAYERS 

WENT INTO THE INAUGURAL 

NATIONS LEAGUE CAMPAIGN 

UNSURE OF ITS BENEFITS. 

But the Scotland coach insists Steve Clarke’s 

men are keenly aware of the importance of 

the 2022/23 competition, which starts with 

a Group B1 fixture against Armenia tonight. 

The former Rangers, Everton and 

Hearts attacker played in the Scots’ first 

game in UEFA’s newest international 

competition on 10 September, 2018, 

and scored the second goal in a 2-0 

win over Albania at Hampden Park. 

After falling short in their Euro 2020 

qualifying campaign, Scotland took 

advantage of the safety net of the Nations 

League route after topping Group C1 and 

reached their first major tournament in 23 

years with dramatic play-off penalty shootout 

wins against Israel and then Serbia. 

Naismith knows the current squad fully 

understand that a successful Nations 

League campaign not only brings 

promotion to Group A for the 2024/25 

edition, but could also provide another 

pathway to Euro 2024 if required. 

Looking back to the Albania game, the 

35-year-old said: “The players probably 

didn’t fully understand the process and 

the way that the tournament works. They 

are competitive games and so you want to 

win them but the rewards at the end of it 

were probably still unclear to a lot of us. 

“In some respects it seemed too simple, you 

go through this group, you do that and you 

do that and you are at the Euros! What? 

“So that was the first feeling and we put 

in a good performance against Albania 

and it turned into a comfortable night. 

“The group are now more aware, they 

understand how good the Nations League 

can be. They went through the process 

and got their rewards at the end of it so 

they can judge how valuable it can be. 

“We have to put in a performance against 

Amenia and use the disappointment of 

last week but also use the motivation 

of the 2020 Euro campaign.” 

By referring to last week, Naismith, of 

course, is noting Scotland’s stinging 

disappointment of falling short in their bid 

to reach this year’s World Cup in Qatar. 

A 3-1 defeat by Ukraine in the play-off 

semi-final at Hampden Park - their first loss 

in nine games - means the Tartan Army 

still look back to France 1998 for the last 

appearance on the biggest stage in football. 

Naismith is confident that the players 

are ready to start afresh after “taking

stock and taking a breath” and will be 

prepared for Wednesday’s visitors before 

away matches against Republic of 

Ireland and Armenia, in a group that also 

includes Ukraine, who lost their play-off 

final to Wales in Cardiff on Sunday. 

“There was frustration and disappointment 

because the boys had come so far 

and they had built momentum and 

belief,” said the Ayrshireman. 

“But nearly every player still has a couple of 

tournaments within their reach and it is now 

about getting the successful times back. 

“This group doesn’t need a pep talk. They 

haven’t needed picking up. They had a 

bit of time to relax because obviously we 

didn’t have the next game for a week. 

We had a bit of down time and we have 

used that to refocus and effectively they 

are coming into this as a fresh camp. 

“The manager came out in the press and 

said how he has real ambitions of going 

to a World Cup with his country and he 

needs the players to help him do that. 

“Talking to a lot of the players, they say 

the feeling of getting to Euro 2020 was 

just the best and getting that feeling back 

has got to be the aim and drive for all the 

players. And there is no better way to do 

it than in these Nations League games. 

“We had previously gone eight games 

unbeaten. That was good. The last 

campaign for the World Cup is clouded 

by the disappointment but it was still 

a very good campaign in terms of 

the points we won in the group. 

“So as much as the feeling at the moment 

is disappointment, the positives from the 

campaign are there for everyone to see. 

“The gaffer touched on it a few times, 

the group are growing. There are always 

setbacks in football and it is how you deal 

with them and how you can grow from them.” 

Armenia, ranked 92nd in the world, got 

off to a great start io their campaign 

on Saturday with a stunning 1-0 home 

win over Republic of Ireland, a result 

that raised eyebrows around Europe. 

Coach Joaquin Caparros was delighted 

with the victory and said: “I have to praise 

my players because it’s a very good result 

for our team. We worked really hard and 

earned our luck with the goal. It’s one of the 

greatest victories of the Armenian football 

team because Ireland is a very good team.’’ 

Naismith believes the result will have 

everyone in the Scotland camp on their toes. 

He said: “You saw the Republic of Ireland 

game and the result and that shows you that 

because we are in a higher level of group 

the competition is going to be tougher. 

“There will be a lot of people going to the game 

just expecting Scotland to win but Armenia 

are in this group for a reason and they showed 

in their first game that they are a team that 

is organised and understand what to do. 

They will not be taken lightly, that’s for sure. 

“We will be ready. The boys aren’t going away 

from this camp on the disappointment of the 

Ukraine game, they have the chance to go 

away on the positive of three Nations League 

games and what results we can get from them.” 




A NATIONS 

LEAGUE AGAIN 

Scotland know all about the 

rewards this tournament 

can offer 

Scotland turn their attention to their Nations 

League campaign tonight with an opening Group 

B1 game against Armenia at Hampden Park. 

It is a landmark occasion as the two countries have 

never met on the football pitch before. 

There follows a trip to Dublin to play Republic of 

Ireland on 11 June before an away game against 

Armenia on 14 June. 

Ukraine, who Scotland faced in the 2022 World 

Cup play-off semi-final at Hampden Park earlier 

this month, are the fourth team in a section which 

promises to be tough for Steve Clarke’s men.



It takes all our 

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#EveryTrickCounts

So what is the Nations League? 

UEFA introduced the Nations League 

tournament in 2018, in part to reduce the 

number of friendlies. In a bid to ensure the 

competition would be taken seriously, places 

at the 2020 European Championship finals 

were also up for grabs. 

The Nations League is a tournament 

in itself. The four group winners of 

League A qualify for the Nations 

League Finals in June 2023. Portugal 

clinched the first title on home turf 

in 2019 with a 1-0 win over the 

Netherlands and France beat 

Spain in the 2021 final. 

In its original format, Europe’s 

55 member nations were split 

into four leagues - A, B, C 

and D - based on co-efficient 

points. Each league was sub-divided into 

four groups, with the section winners each 

clinching promotion to the league above. 

Teams who did well in the Nations League 

and did not qualify automatically for Euro 

2020 were given a second chance through 

a set of play-offs. 

Which is why it has been good for Scotland. 

Alex McLeish led the Scots to top spot in their 

first group ahead of Israel and Albania with 

a thrilling 3-2 Hampden win over the Middle 

East country in November 2018 clinching 

promotion to League B, as well as the fallback 

option of a play-off place. 

After an unsuccessful Euro 2020 qualification 

campaign, Scotland were drawn to play Israel 

again in the play-off semi-final at Hampden. 

The pandemic forced a delay and ensured the 

game was played at an empty stadium but 

Scotland emerged victorious in their firstever 

penalty shoot-out. The second 

penalty shoot-out came in the 

play-off final away to Serbia 

the following month and took 

the jubilant Scots to their first 

major tournament since 1998. 

That is why the Nations 

League is so important for 

Scotland. 

In the 2020/21 Nations League 

campaign, Clarke’s side finished 

second to Czech Republic in a group 

that included Israel and Slovakia 

but, due to different qualification 

criteria, there was no safety net 

in terms of a potential play-off 

for the 2022 Qatar World 



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Cup. Scotland needed to get there through the 

normal World Cup qualification process. The 

Scots finished second to runaway winners 

Denmark and that was enough to get them a 

play-off spot against Ukraine. 

So, to the 2022/23 Nations League. Scotland, 

as second seeds, were drawn against 

Ukraine, Republic of Ireland and Armenia in 

Group B1. 

The Scots obviously have recent experience 

of Ukraine, while Scotland and Republic of 

Ireland are evenly-matched in the record 

books with four wins apiece and three draws. 

The last time the two sides met was in the 

Euro 2016 qualifiers when Shaun Maloney’s 

strike gave Scotland a 1-0 win at Celtic Park 

before they played out a 1-1 draw in Dublin. 

Scotland have never played Armenia but 

will get the chance home and away within a 

week. 

Winning their section while aspiring to get 

into the top level is motivation enough for 

the Scots but the 2022/23 Nations League 

competition also provides teams another 

chance to qualify for UEFA Euro 2024 

in Germany, which makes every game 

important. 

After the draw was made in Nyon in 

December last year, Clarke said: “When 

you’re in a draw with teams of the same 

level you’re going to expect three difficult 

opponents. That’s what we got. 

“It’s a good draw. The games against the 

Republic of Ireland will always be good for 

the supporters and hopefully we can make 

them good on the pitch for both sets of fans. 

Obviously we have Ukraine in the World Cup 

play-offs. We will know them well by the end 

of the Nations League. 

“Armenia is a new one, Scotland haven’t 

played them before so a first for Scotland and 

a first for Armenia. They are a relatively new 

nation and have had a couple of good results. 

They beat Romania and Iceland, so they are a 

decent team. 

“So, three good opponents and something to 

look forward to in the summer.” 




MOMENT 

IN TIME… 

SCOTLAND 1 

CZECH REPUBLIC 0 

NATIONS LEAGUE 

14 OCTOBER 2020 

A BEST RUN OF RESULTS IN 32 YEARS 

CAME WITH SCOTLAND’S LAST 

NATIONS LEAGUE VICTORY OVER 

CZECH REPUBLIC IN OCTOBER 2020. 

Steve Clarke’s side went an impressive 

eight games unbeaten after Ryan Fraser’s 

early goal at Hampden Park secured a 

hard-fought win to leave the Scots four 

points clear at the top of Group B. 

Lyndon Dykes gave his marker the slip to play 

in Fraser on six minutes and his composed 

finish past Tomas Vaclik brought about his 

second international goal. Fraser - directly 

involved in six goals in his previous eight 

starts for his country - threatened twice 

more before the break and substitute Oli 

McBurnie rattled the crossbar late on, but 

it was a resolute defensive display which 

eventually earned the points for the hosts. 

Matej Vydra missed two glaring opportunities 

in each half, John McGinn made a goalsaving 

intervention and Tomas Soucek 

scooped over from close range as 

Scotland battened down the hatches to 

register a third consecutive clean-sheet 

for the first time since October 2017.




FINISHING 

SCHOOL FOR 

MANAGERS 

The latest batch of Pro Licence students 

will graduate tonight 

Some familiar faces such as Russell 

Martin, Maurice Ross, Peter Lovenkrands 

and John Rankin are among the coaches 

who graduate tonight from the Scottish 

FA’s UEFA Pro Licence course. 

Greig Paterson, Head of Coach Education & 

Development at Scottish football’s governing 

body, believes the course is gaining in kudos 

with each intake and there is a growing 

body of evidence to back up that assertion. 

To date, the Scottish FA have delivered 

13 UEFA Pro Licence courses and have 

had 217 graduates. Demand has never 

been greater for places on a course where 

people such as Jose Mourinho, Andre 

Villas-Boas and David Moyes, among other 

top names in the football world, regularly 

impart their knowledge and wisdom. 

Yet, perhaps surprisingly, the Pro Licence 

course, despite being the final rung on 

the coaching certificates ladder and 

something of a finishing school, is not so 

much concerned about the complexities 

or otherwise of modern-day tactics, but 

the age-old issue of managing people. 

And that can come as a surprise to some. 

Paterson said: “Kevin Thomson, who is on 

the current course and not the one which will 

Maurice Ross 

graduate, told me that he was blown away 

by the way everybody talks about how to 

deal with people, how to manage people and 

how to get the most from leadership skills. 

“Jose Mourinho, Andre Villas-Boas, David 

Moyes, and the late Walter Smith, who would 

have presented on this course, all these guys 

come in and talk about how to lead people 

and how to get the most from people. 

“They don’t talk about playing through 

the thirds, or playing with inverted 

wingers and all that kind of stuff.

Peter Lovenkrands 

“If you were chatting to Walter, for example, 

the conversation would be about how he 

manages that nine-in-a-row Rangers team 

and he would have talked about leading 

people, personal relationships. It is about 

people and how you get on with people.” 

The Scottish FA’s coaching courses 

have long been respected throughout 

the football world since Andy Roxburgh 

became the first director of coaching at the 

Scottish FA in the mid-1970s, before he 

eventually became national team boss. 

There is a structure in the courses in that 

they must align to the UEFA coaching 

convention for all coaching licences. 

Tonight’s graduates, like everyone 

else, were affected by the Covid-19 

pandemic which meant more time was 

required to complete the coursework. 

Paterson said: “The Pro Licence is the 

highest level of qualification you can 

receive from UEFA. It is coveted but even 

more coveted because UEFA restrict 

the amount of courses each national 

association can deliver to one every two 

years for the maximum of 20 participants. 

“Competition for places is high. A 

thorough recruitment process goes 

on to get the numbers down to 20 

from around 75-80 applicants. 

“It is mainly theoretical although we 

do some work on the pitch. They do 

their coaching practice on the pitch 

probably on the UEFA A Licence. 

“In the Pro Licence you look more at 

leadership, as I mentioned, but also how 

to deal with the board, the media, fans, 

managing up, managing down and everything 

else that goes on in the football world. 

“We replicate media scenarios, boardroom 

scenarios and top coaches like Davie 

Moyes will give them scenarios and 

provide feedback based on reality. 

“The intake who graduate tonight 

began their work in January 2019 and 

were due to finish in December 2020 

but Covid kicked in, in March 2020, and 

it took us a bit of time to finish off. 

“We had the coaches in Bologna for 

the European Under-21 Championship 

in the summer of 2019 so we had 

some great experiences. 

“We transitioned to online learning and got 

good speakers during that time such as Jose 

Mourinho and Andre Villas-Boas, which was 



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TONIGHT’S 

GRADUATES 

Peter Lovenkrands 

Barry Nicholson 

Dan Harris 

John Rankin 

Maurice Ross 

Russell Martin 

Pauline MacDonald 

Scott Calderwood 

John Henry 

Paul Sheerin 

Laurie Ellis 

Barry Nicholson 

Jon Daly 

Mark Spalding 

Brian Mclaughlin 

Liam Fox 

Frazer Robertson 

Jonaton Johansson 

Paul McDonald 

Danny Invincibile 

(In addition, Arnar 

Gretarson and Dean 

Martin will graduate 

after the Scottish FA 

were given permission 

by UEFA to take them 

on from the Icelandic 

FA, which were not fully 

recognised to deliver the 

Pro Licence at the time.) 

just fantastic. Jose is not a 

graduate from Scotland. He 

did his B Licence here while 

Andre Villas-Boas came 

on the C Licence course 

when he was 17 and they 

are big supporters of ours 

and they recommend a lot 

of Portuguese to come to 

Scotland, providing letters 

of support. People want 

to attain the best that 

they can and rightly so. 

“With so many bosses 

having been through the 

system, what we are 

seeing now is assistants, 

first-team coaches, 

heads of youth, heads of 

academies, and we get a 

lot of external applicants.” 

In the pipeline to graduate 

next are more familiar 

names such as Thomson, 

who recently stood down 

as Kelty Hearts boss, 

former Hibernian manager 

Shaun Maloney and former 

Russell Martin (top) and 

John Rankin (below) 

Celtic and Republic of 

Ireland defender Darren 

O’Dea, who is the boss 

of Celtic Under-18s. 

Paterson said: “We will 

graduate the previous 

course, finish off the current 

course and then set about 

advertising for the next 

one to start this year. The 

course is well established. 

There is always a demand.” 




A BUMP IN 

THE ROAD 

Scotland are looking to show 

that they are still moving 

forward despite World Cup 

disappointment 

Steve Clarke stood firm behind his Scotland squad 

following their disappointing 3-1 defeat to Ukraine 

which ended 2022 World Cup qualification hopes. 

On an emotionally-charged night at Hampden Park 

last Wednesday, where worldwide attention was 

on the play-off semi-final due to Russia’s invasion 

of their neighbours in February, the Scots came 

up short against an accomplished visiting side. 

Clarke said: “What we shouldn’t forget is 

the progress that we have made over the 

last three years, we came into the game 

eight games unbeaten but it was Ukraine’s 

night so congratulations to Ukraine.” 

Scotland’s 39-year-old goalkeeper, 

Craig Gordon, was at his best again 

as Oleksandr Petrakov’s slick-moving 

side dominated the first half. 

The Hearts skipper, who had played in 

the 3-1 win over Ukraine at Hampden 

Park in 2007, had to stretch to tip Viktor 

Tsygankov’s first-time drive from 16 yards 

over the bar. His save on 17 minutes 

from Andriy Yarmolenko was even 

more impressive, clutching the ball at 

the second attempt a yard from the 

line after blocking the attacker’s first 

attempt from point-blank range.

Then Gordon thwarted Roman 

Yaremchuk inside the box after 

Ukraine had again found a way 

through the home defence. 

However, the former Celtic and 

Sunderland ‘keeper was finally 

beaten in the 33rd minute by a lob 

from Ukraine skipper Yarmolenko 

following a long ball over the top. 

It was an even steeper uphill 

battle for the home side after 

Yaremchuk increased that lead 

with a header from close range 

just three minutes after the break. 

The Scots rallied midway through the 

second half and John McGinn missed 

a good chance with a header, before 

fellow midfielder Callum McGregor 

pulled a goal back in the 79th minute 

to give hope to the Tartan Army. 

However, the equaliser would not 

come and Ukraine substitute Artem 

Dovbyk broke clear of the Scotland 

defence to drive in a third with the 

last kick of the ball to hand Scotland 

their first defeat in nine games. 



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Coincidentally, Dovbyk’s first international 

goal had come at Hampden in Euro 2020 

where his header against Sweden late 

in extra-time took Ukraine into a first 

quarter-final, where they lost to England. 

Clarke’s side also qualified for Euro 2020 

but Scotland have not reached a World 

Cup since France 1998. The national team 

boss remains positive and maintained his 

squad was in a much better place than it 

was when he took over in May 2019. 

The former Kilmarnock and West Brom 

manager said: “I have had some low 

moments. When I first came into the job there 

were some very low moments. We have 

left those days behind, I think, I really do. 

“We have improved a lot. I am sad for the 

players because we wanted to go to a 

World Cup together. We can’t do that. 

“But we can’t feel too sorry for ourselves. 

We are a work in progress, we want to get 

better and hopefully they don’t make me 

out to be a liar and do qualify for another 

tournament, which I am sure they will. 

“I am convinced and that is why it is 

important that we don’t forget how far we 

have come over the last three years. It is 

a group that has developed together. 

“We have to qualify for Euro 2024 and 

beyond that, by the time we get to the 

World Cup in 2026 this group will have more 

caps, more experience and should be better 

and that’s what we should aim to be.’’ 

The former Scotland defender was 

magnanimous in defeat, giving 

credit to Ukraine whose preparations 

had been less than perfect. 

He said: “The best team won the game. It was 

disappointing. But sometimes the opposition 

play better and this was the case on the night. 

“I knew they would be well prepared and they 

were well prepared, they are a good team. 

We didn’t pass the ball well enough in the 

first half and that is also credit to Ukraine. 

The first half, we didn’t play as we can play, 

sometimes that happens in football.” 

After the disappointment of failing 

to get to Qatar, Gordon also turned 

his attention to Armenia. 

He said: “Just concentrate on the next game. 

That’s how we have done it so far to get 

to this point and we need to go back to 

that. We need to start the Nations League 

and try to get a good start in that.” 



ON A RECCE 

WITH REEKY 

Steve McCorquodale recounts a previous trip to 

Armenia on Scotland duty 

For many at Hampden Park tonight, myself 

included, it will be our first chance to see 

Armenia as this match will be the first 

competitive game at this level between the 

two sides. 

At the same time, my wife June and I are 

putting the finishing touches to our plans for 

the trip to Yerevan for the return match that 

takes place six days later. 

It will be our first visit to Yerevan, the capital. 

Indeed, for most heading out to the Caucasus 

region, it will be their first trip to the country. 

However, for us this will actually be our 

second visit to Armenia whilst away with the 

Scotland national team. 

Back in September 2015, Scotland were 

scheduled to play Georgia in Tbilisi as part of 

the Euro 2016 qualifiers. Sadly, we all know 




how that one turned out, but that’s another 

story! 

One of our band had organised a minibus 

trip the day before the match in Tbilisi. The 

affectionately-named ‘Reeky Tours’ had 

planned for us to cross the border between 

Georgia and Armenia and visit Akhtala in the 

north of the country. 

Lunch was organised, a traditional Armenian 

feast, and we would also be taking in a 

UNESCO World Heritage site at Haghpat 

Monastery in the mountains. 

It is one of the great benefits of travelling 

to see Scotland play abroad that you will 

visit some remarkable places that might 

not otherwise get your attention. The 

mountainous region in the north of Armenia 

is one such place. Not only were some of the 

views stunning but the hospitality from our 

hosts was warm and welcoming too. 

As the minibus crossed the border, the quality 

of the roads deteriorated and there was a 

good deal more poverty to behold, including 

the odd derelict vehicle by the side of the 

road.

As with many former Soviet nations, the 

architecture was functional rather than 

beautiful but that cannot be said of Haghpat 

Monastery (pictured bottom right). Built in 

the 10th century, it was a picturesque place 

of quiet calm and serenity in the highlands of 

northern Armenia. 

A highlight of the visit for some of us was the 

challenge of the wishing wall (pictured right). 

This involved walking along the bottom edge 

of the wall that formed one end of one of the 

churches. The wall is mere inches wide and 

our guide informed us that if we made a wish 

and were then able to travel from one end 

to the other without falling, the wish would 

come true. Although several of our group 

tried, no one succeeded in going the distance. 

My wish was to beat Georgia the following 

day… if only I could have made it the whole 

way, our qualifying campaign would have 

turned out to be so different! 

June actually made the furthest distance in 

our group and when I asked her what she had 

wished for, it turned out that it was exactly 

the same as me. So close, yet so far. 

I met June for the first time on one of 

Scotland’s sojourns into Dublin for the Carling 

Nations Cup in 2011. It was actually during 

Scotland’s first trip to Serbia in 2013 that we 

decided to take our blossoming relationship a 

bit more seriously. 

Serbia was another of those great trips to see 

Scotland play abroad. Prior to leaving the UK, 

we had been warned that Serbians would 

be unfriendly and their fans threatening with 

more than just a hint of hooliganism. We set 

off with more than a little trepidation. 

It was a great surprise to find our hosts were 

anything but threatening. On the train ride 

(another great staple of a trip away with 

Scotland) from Budapest to Novi Sad, we 

discovered that the Serbians liked to party. 

Armed with a fair few carry outs, we boarded 

the train and proceeded to share out the drink 

among our fellow travellers, much to their 

amazement. Alcohol - one of the great icebreakers 

in foreign countries when dressed 

in a kilt. We arrived in Novi Sad, more than a 



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little inebriated, and that included many of the 

passengers. 

Among them was a new-found friend of 

the Tartan Army, a member of the Serbian 

military. He liked his vodka neat, I needed 

cola with mine, which he viewed with deep 

suspicion. 

Disembarking from the train, we were met 

with a wall of riot police. By this point we had 

learned Serbian for drunken bum and were 

chanting it as we walked down the platform. 

The smiles on the faces of the police told us 

that they knew we were there for fun… and 

the three points. 

We achieved the first objective, just not the 

second. A bit of a recurring theme developing 

here. 

June and I celebrate our third wedding 

anniversary at the end of this month. First, 

there is the small matter of Armenia home 

and away, as well as a quick trip to Dublin for 

the game against Ireland. 

Having briefly tasted Armenian hospitality 

in 2015, I am very much looking forward to 

renewing our acquaintance… and getting the 

points. 

Who knows? Reeky Tours might come out of 

retirement for this one and organise another 

memorable trip where we can once again 

sample the many delights that Armenia has 

to offer. 




SCOTLAND 

MANAGER: 

Steve Clarke 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

Zander Clark 

St Johnstone 

Craig Gordon 

Heart of Midlothian 

Liam Kelly 

Motherwell 

David Marshall 

Queens Park Rangers 

Liam Cooper 

Leeds United 

Grant Hanley 

Norwich City 

Jack Hendry 

Club Brugge KV 

Aaron Hickey 

Bologna 

Scott McKenna 

Nottingham Forrest 

Stephen O’Donnell 

Motherwell 

Nathan Patterson 

Everton 

Anthony Ralston 

Celtic 

Andy Robertson 

Liverpool 

John Souttar 

Rangers 

Greg Taylor 

Celtic 

Stuart Armstrong 

Southampton 

Lewis Ferguson 

Aberdeen 

Billy Gilmour 

Chelsea 

Allan Campbell 

Luton Town 

John McGinn 

Aston Villa 

Callum McGregor 

Celtic 

Scott McTominay 

Manchester United 

David Turnbull 

Celtic 

Che Adams 

Southampton 

Jacob Brown 

Stoke City 

Ryan Christie 

Bournemouth 

Ross Stewart 

Sunderland 

ARMENIA 

MANAGER: 

Joaquín Caparrós 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

David Yurchenko 

Pyunik 

Arman Hovhannisyan 

Pyunik 

Varazdat Haroyan 

Cadiz 

Artak Grigoryan 

Alashkert 

Khoren Bayramyan 

Rostov 

Eduard Spertsyan 

Krasnodar 

Tigran Barseghyan 

Slovan Bratislava 

Kamo Hovhannisyan 

Astana 

Hrayr Mkoyan 

Ararat Yerevan 

Hovhannes 

Hambartsumyan 

Anorthosis Famagusta 

Vahan Bichakhchyan 

Pogoń Szczecin 

Henri Avagyan 

Noravank 

Arsen Beglaryan 

Urartu 

Taron Voskanyan 

Alashkert 

Wbeymar Angulo 

Ararat-Armenia 

Edgar Babayan 

Vejle 

Hovhannes Harutyunyan 


Jordy Monroy 

Noah 

Solomon Udo 


Artur Serobyan 

BKMA Yerevan 

Artak Dashyan 

Pyunik 

Styopa Mkrtchyan 

BKMA Yerevan 

Sargis Adamyan 

Club Brugge 

Stanislav Buchnev 

Pyunik 

Zhirayr Margaryan 

Urartu 

Edgar Malakyan 

Ararat Yerevan 

Rudik Mkrtchyan 

Ararat Yerevan

C 

M 

Y 

M 

Y 

Y 

Y 

K

Scotland v Armenia

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