Scotland Men's Football Team

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"Happy endings don't happen often in football, but it'd be ideal."

As Craig Gordon prepares for his 24th season in football, it's understandable he's also thinking about how his illustrious chapter in the game ends.

The 42-year-old goalkeeper recently signed a new one-year deal with Hearts and started between the sticks for Scotland in March, but even the man who's defied all odds with his longevity in the game knows the end is nigh.

That doesn't mean his outlook or attitude has changed, though.

He's still as driven as the young man who first stepped into Hearts in 1999 and as determined as the chap who battled back from multiple career-ending injuries.

"Trying to be the best I can be is how I got here and it's the only way to stay here," Gordon said, previewing his testimonial next month against Sunderland.

"Regardless of age and what I have to do to get to that level, that's the process and that's what I stick to trying to do.

"No matter what I'm doing, whether it's in training, in games, whether I'm reflecting on the performances, analysing, it's to be the best that I can possibly be.

"Trying to improve, I still think that's possible even at this age. You still have to try and improve things that you can improve and that's what keeps me going."

The prospect of reaching a World Cup does too.

Scotland begin their qualifying campaign in September, and if fit, Gordon would be expected to be in the mix, particularly given the recent struggles Steve Clarke has had in that position.

"[Appearing at a World Cup] would be ideal, but there's an awful lot of football to be played," he added.

"Happy endings don't happen often in football, so that's something to work towards, something to give everything that I've possibly got to try and achieve and then we'll see where it takes us."

Scotland left-back Andy Robertson says he has held discussions with Liverpool over his future, but the 31-year-old, who has a year left of his contract, is still unclear on what the outcome of those contract talks will be. (Sky Sports), external

Scottish FA chief executive Ian Maxwell says contract talks with head coach Steve Clarke are on hold until after Scotland's attempt to qualify for the next World Cup. (Daily Record), external

Read the rest of Friday's Scottish gossip.

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Captain Andy Robertson insists Scotland can "give anyone a game" and is "still optimistic" of reaching next summer's World Cup despite a string of disappointing results.

The Scots were scudded 3-1 by Iceland in Friday's friendly at Hampden, after suffering a dismal 3-0 defeat to Greece in their Nations League play-off in March.

However, the Liverpool left-back is adamant if Steve Clarke's side "get back to basics" they can mount a challenge when qualifying begins in September.

"Friday was a huge disappointment, a game that we tried to go into to build momentum going into the World Cup qualifiers, it did the complete opposite," Roberston told Sky Sports., external

"I'm still optimistic, I'm still looking forward to the future, Friday was a bit of a blow but we know the last year or so hasn't been up to scratch.

"I still believe in the squad that we've got and I do believe that we can cause any teams problems as long as we get back to the basics we're good at.

"We can look at it two ways. First of all, we're thankful that it wasn't in a qualifier. If you're going to put in a performance like that and make the mistakes that we made, better off doing it in a friendly than a competitive match, that's the only positive we could have took from Friday.

"We can't afford that, we know how hard it is to qualify for a World Cup. The last time we tried it we had a pretty perfect campaign, only finishing a couple of points behind Denmark. We then go into the play-offs and we know how hard games in the play-offs are.

"We're in a four team group, it's more of a sprint, there's only six games and it's a real tough group.

"We've shown that at the highest level, we've drawn against Portugal, beaten Croatia, beaten Spain - I know that feels like a long time ago - we have competed against teams when we do that right and that's what we're going to need to do for all six games to give ourselves a chance."

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Andy Irving says "you couldn't really write" his Scotland debut as he made it at the same time as his childhood friend, Josh Doig.

The pair came off the bench as second-half substitutes in Scotland's final game of the season in Liechtenstein.

West Ham's Irving and Sassuolo's Doig both attended Newcraighall Primary School and then Portobello High School in Edinburgh and were on the books of Hearts before Doig ended up as a city rival with Hibernian.

"I loved it. Just over the moon, to be honest, to make my Scotland debut and get my first cap," the midfielder said. £I'm just absolutely delighted.

"It's just amazing. It's something that you dream of as a kid, playing for your country.

"Having played throughout the youth groups, I know how proud that made me feel. To make it for the national team, I'm just delighted.

"Coming on with Doigy was perfect. Literally, mad, just mad.

"Our dads are really good mates. They played at Edinburgh City together and stuff like that.

"I'm two years older but we used to play when we were kids at primary school and whatnot. Growing up, he was at Hearts training with us and whatnot. You couldn't really write it, to be honest."

Irving spoke to Doig to mark the moment.

"'How is this happening? We're both coming on at the same time.' I'm sure for him it's a dream come true, just like mine," he added.

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Departing Scotland assistant John Carver "has left big shoes to fill" says Steve Clarke as his right-hand man focuses solely on his role as Lechia Gdansk manager.

The 60-year-old took over the Polish top-flight team in November and will focus on his club job after being handed an extended contract.

Carver has been with Scotland since August 2020 when he replaced Alex Dyer as head coach Clarke's assistant

Speaking after the 4-0 friendly win over Liechtenstein in Vaduz, Clarke said: "John's leaving. He's got a full-time contract, three years in Gdansk. So he's going to move on. The only surprise for me is that it's taken five years for somebody to take John off me.

"We came across each other way back in 1998 at Newcastle when I was a young coach and John was an even younger coach. He was looking after the younger players at Newcastle.

"We always said that we'd try and work together. It took us a long time to get there. But we did. He's been outstanding for us.

"For me as a head coach, John's been a fantastic assistant. Obviously, I wish him all the best in the future. Now I've got to start the job of looking to fill his shoes, and they are big shoes to fill."

We asked for your thoughts on Scotland's 4-0 win against Liechtenstein. Your views include plenty of praise for teenager midfielder Lennon Miller.

Here's what some of you said:

David: Miller's going to be a future Scotland captain! He's got so much ability.

Paul: Miller is a natural central midfielder who looked extremely competent and comfortable at this level. Will be interesting to see how he fares against more challenging opponents. I, for one, commended him for his comment about wanting to be the best player within a few months. We need to get this national low self-esteem kicked to the kerb.

Thomas: Classy performance from Miller. Adams showed what he can do when we create chances. Really miss having a natural wide player.

Sally: Miller has shown promise and should be given the opportunity to play 90 minutes against better opposition.

Neil: After watching Miller against Iceland I was immediately impressed by his attitude and awareness. He certainly showed that in abundance against Liechtenstein and also his skills with the ball at his feet. We've missed Callum McGregor for his whole round game, hopefully Lennon is a worthy replacement for him for the future.

Ian: So composed and confident, it looked as if Miller had been playing alongside Billy Gilmour and John McGinn for years. That performance will have attracted many more scouts and pushed up Motherwell's asking price.

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Convincing Celtic captain Callum McGregor to make a Scotland return would be the "perfect scenario" for head coach Steve Clarke, says Scott Brown.

McGregor, 31, opted to retire from international duty in August last year following the nation's disappointing Euro 2024 campaign.

Even without McGregor, who has continued to flourish at club level, Scotland's midfield is one of Clarke's stronger areas.

Motherwell teenager Lennon Miller has emerged as an option following an impressive June camp, plus Billy Gilmour, Scott McTominay, John McGinn, Kenny McLean, Ryan Christie and Lewis Ferguson all remain squad regulars.

But ex-Celtic and Scotland captain Brown, who reversed an initial decision to retire from international duty as a player, feels McGregor is still the one Scottish midfielder who "ticks all the boxes" for Clarke.

"There are so many possibilities," the Ayr United manager told BBC Scotland. "The pairing of Gilmour and McTominay is one that's got to flourish.

"You know what you're getting with McGinn. Clarke likes McLean because of his experience. Christie is favoured as a 10, too, so there are plenty of legs in there.

"But the perfect scenario is to get McGregor back. He is the one that ticks all the boxes. He can sit, he can go forward.

"I know he is retired, but that is what Scotland are looking for."

Read more: 'Miller time for Scotland - but McGregor return the dream'

Thomas Duncan
BBC Sport Scotland in Vaduz

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Scotland goalkeeper Ross Doohan reflected on his "crazy" week after making his debut against Liechtenstein.

In fact, in the space of a fortnight, the 27-year-old has won the Scottish Cup with Aberdeen before leaving the club, to cutting his holiday short to gain his first international cap.

Doohan, who is reportedly set to return to Celtic this summer, was called up for the first time on Sunday amid a goalkeeper injury crisis.

He would go on to make his debut for Scotland the following day, keeping a clean sheet in the 4-0 win in Vaduz.

"It was pretty crazy," Doohan told BBC Scotland. "I was on holiday in Turkey with my family, got the call quite early in the morning.

"I phoned my dad, who was in his room, told him I'd be leaving in the morning. So I told them when the flight got arranged, and then my mum and dad came and met me down at the reception.

"They said bye then that was me going to the airport. Thankfully I got the nod to play, it's a great honour to get my first cap.

"You get these games where you might not have a save, but it's all about concentration because anything can happen at any given time, so I was happy how the result went."

Thomas Duncan
BBC Sport Scotland in Vaduz

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Josh Doig could hardly stop himself from beaming after making his Scotland debut in the 4-0 win against Liechtenstein.

The 23-year-old Sassuolo left-back came off the bench and added energy and intent in Vaduz.

"[I was a] bit hundred miles per hour when I came on because I was just so delighted to actually get on the pitch," the former Hibernian player told BBC Scotland.

"Obviously I've been in a lot of squads, but at the same time it's not a bad thing. It's an absolute honour just to be picked, to be playing alongside some of the guys on the pitch, world-class players.

"In my position, you've probably got some of the best two left-backs in the world at the moment, so it can't not help me being around them and being in that environment."

Doig says his parents were on holiday and watching as he earned his first cap.

"My mum and dad are actually in Ibiza watching it, so they're enjoying themselves," Doig laughed.

"I'm sure they'll have a wee drink for it tonight. All my family are really big football fans, so they'll just absolutely enjoy it. It's a happy moment."

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Scotland striker George Hirst told BBC Scotland: "To get that first goal is massive for me, but it was a great team performance and very professional.

"It was very disappointing on Friday night, we had to look at ourselves, but the good thing in football is you always have another opportunity and today we had that chance to put things right.

"They made it difficult for us, it was a dry pitch, there were millions of excuses we could've thrown out there, but we played with the right mentality.

"It makes my running a little easier, sharing the workload with Che [Adams]. If that's something to come moving forward then I'm not going to complain."

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Scotland and Motherwell midfielder Lennon Miller told BBC Scotland: "It's a good night's work, a proud moment to make my first start and to pop up with an assist is always nice.

"It's always easier when you get that early goal, it calmed everyone down and we played some nice stuff out there.

"I thought we came here tonight and our application was second to none."

On what's next, he added: "I've got a couple of weeks off to come, then it's back to it."

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Scotland hat-trick hero Che Adams told BBC Scotland: "I'm happy to get on the scoresheet and help the team.

"It's nice to score for Scotland, it's not happened much since I've been here.

"We knew it'd be difficult, the conditions weren't great, but we were very professional and our mentality was spot on.

"It was important to sign off this year with the win. We're happy we put things right from the Iceland game."

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Scotland head coach Steve Clarke told BBC Scotland: "I know my players, I trust my players, we've had a couple of disappointments, but they've always shown resilience to come back and do what they can do.

"It'll have no bearing on what's going to happen later in the year, but it's nice to finish this camp with a nice win.

"It's not really a feel-good factor because it's still a disappointing camp. We didn't play as we can play at Hampden, so I'm certainly going to carry that on.

"There was hurt and anger in the dressing room and hopefully we can harness that and take that into the autumn games.

"This Scotland team have shown how competitive they can be against [Nations League finalists] Spain and Portugal. We can compete."

On Che Adams' hat-trick: "I'm really pleased for Che. We know what he can bring. Strikers need goals, it's been a little while since he got one. I knew he was desperate to score.

"He got an early one which releases the tension a little bit. I left him on because I knew he'd be desperate for that hat-trick.

"He gets an assist for George [Hirst] too which is big, we play two strikers and they both score which is nice.

"It's not the first time I've [played two up top], its something we've used before."

Clarke also revealed Monday's match was John Carver's last as Scotland assistant coach.

Scotland fans, what did you make of the response of Steve Clarke's side in the 4-0 win over Liechtenstein?

How does this set the team up for the World Cup qualifiers? How impressed were you with Lennon Miller? How important is it to see the strikers finding the net?

Send us your thoughts

Thomas Duncan
BBC Sport Scotland

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With the mood around the national team a bit edgy, this game had the feel of a no-win situation for Steve Clarke and his players.

Of course they had to win, but they needed a few more positives to come out of it than just that.

Clarke will be pleased to have got a few. Firstly, Che Adams scoring a treble was a big boost given no Scotland striker had scored for the national side in a year.

George Hirst also grabbed an instinctive first international goal, capping a decent two games for the Ipswich striker on his first couple of starts.

There was also the performance of 18-year-old Lennon Miller, who although the level of opponent was weaker than the Scottish Premiership sides he faces every week, impressed.

He was crucial in Adams' second goal, with his pressure and then pass, teeing the striker up to give Scotland breathing space.

There were other flashes from him, too. Whether it was a couple of piercing passes into forward players, or one-two combinations out wide to get Scotland moving forward, he was in the thick of the action.

There were also debuts for Andy Irving, Josh Doig, Connor Barron and Kieron Bowie.

Clarke said these games would have no bearing on how they start the World Cup qualifiers, but the Scotland boss will be grateful to be heading for the holidays on a brighter note.

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As season's go, Kathleen McGovern has had a good one.

Thirty-one goals in Hibernian's SWPL-title-winning campaign earned her a much-deserved first Scotland call-up for the final two Nations League games.

She may have missed the initial phone call, twice, but that didn't detract head coach Melissa Andreatta from starting the 22-year-old at Hampden in her first game in charge.

Following an "exciting" first week in camp, McGovern, ended it with a "dream" debut at the national stadium.

"I was really taken back," the forward told Hibs' club media. "I didn't even expect to really play.

"I didn't believe it when people were telling me that it looked like I was going to start. The team came out and I felt my jaw hit the floor a bit. I was like, this is reality, I'm starting at Hampden.

"I just had to try and control my emotions. I was excited and I couldn't even get to sleep. I just couldn't wait for the game to come, knowing that my family were there at the game, and to start at the national stadium. It's been a dream of mine since I was young.

"To make my debut at Hampden was special, because it was in front of the fans, and I was trying to give a good account of myself to show why I deserved to be there. It was just amazing."

If that wasn't good enough, the striker started again four days later in Tilburg and netted her first Scotland goal on just her second appearance.

"I actually still don't think I had processed my debut," she added.

"I knew the second game was going to be a lot harder as the chances would come few and far between. I just tried to get myself in the right areas.

"I just remember peeling off the defender, just trying to get in front of her and obviously Emma [Lawton] played in a great pass. I just knew that I had to get contact on it.

"It felt silent in the stadium because it was all Netherlands fans. There was no noise at all. Then I looked at the lineswoman and obviously saw that her flag was down. I thought, 'Wow, I've just scored.'

"That was really nice, just to celebrate with the girls on the pitch. To walk away with the draw, when we actually could have won the game, was just excellent. It showed how far we had come in the camp.

"To score my first goal. It really topped off a great season at club and national team level, as well. I was just grateful for the opportunity. I learned a lot and hopefully it was the first of many."