'It's been strange' - Steve Clarke miffed as Scotland overshadowed by Katy Perry, Celtic and Rangers

There are a variety of likely factors behind this. The rival attraction of superstar singer Katy Perry, who played in Glasgow on Tuesday night. She has been staying in the same hotel as the Scotland squad although Clarke claimed not to have bumped into her. “I wouldn’t have recognised her,” the manager added. “And she wouldn’t recognise me!”

In any event, Perry has now moved on to the English leg of her ‘Lifetimes’ tour. “I didn’t know she was there” Clarke continued. “I’ve heard the name and I’m sure if you played me a couple of her songs I’d say, ‘I recognise that one’. I couldn’t name you one of her songs, that’s no disrespect to Katy. I’m from a different generation.”

A more credible reason for the sense that Thursday night’s crucial World Cup clash against Greece has crept up on us is the churn of domestic football news, with the club game feeling in a state of even greater upheaval than usual. As well as what many regard as the welcome introduction of Hearts into the title equation, there’s the continued civil war at Celtic and, of course, the unprecedented situation at Rangers, who have just sacked manager Russell Martin in record quick time and are angling to re-appoint Steven Gerrard, one of the biggest names in world football, as his successor.

‘That’s the nature of football in Scotland’

Clarke, who is often at pains to point out that he does read newspapers, did admit he had glanced at some headlines this week and was surprised not to see Scotland featuring more. One tabloid even had a picture of Martin and his girlfriend swimming at Loch Lomond on its front page.

It’s sometimes argued that one of the main obstacles to the success of the national team is the obsession with the Old Firm and this week has been a good example. Clarke pretended not to have noticed the competing events seemingly crowding out the countdown to one of the biggest international games in recent times. Asked whether he was surprised that the game has been pushed down the news agenda somewhat, he played dumb.

"I don’t know,” he smiled. “What’s happening domestically....?” He added: “I would point out the fact that I do glance through the headlines sometimes and it’s been strange in the build up to such a big game that the national team has not been the main headline. But listen, that’s the nature of football in Scotland.”

Although the clash with Greece is heading for a sell-out, there were still tickets available on the eve of the game. It might be trepidation that’s keeping some Scottish fans away. After all, having picked up four points on their travels in the opening two games against Denmark and Belarus, no one wants to bear witness to Scotland potentially undermining this good work by coming unstuck against the Greeks.

It isn’t easily forgotten that Clarke’s side were played off the park by the same set of opponents as recently as March.

Most, though, are showing more faith in the Scotland team. It could be an ‘I was there’ moment against a team reckoned to be one of the coming sides of Europe. Despite this tag, losing to Scotland after suffering a heavy defeat on their own patch against Denmark in their previous outing would put a serious spanner in the works for Greece.

Clarke warned against thinking this way. He cautioned that there is still everything to play for and that will remain the case following the clash with Greece, whatever happens. “After this game there are still nine points up for grabs,” he said. “Nobody in this room would have thought that Denmark would go to Greece and win 3-0. So it’s a section which has shown that there can be some strange results. The teams are quite equally matched. So I wouldn’t be surprised if Greece go to Copenhagen and win. That’s the reality of where we are. So even if we beat them I don’t think they’re dead because there are still nine points to play for.”

Greece are more than a banana skin

It's also relevant to note that second place guarantees a play-off spot. The qualifying campaign is almost as short as a Rangers manager's term of office these days. At 123 days from beginning to end, Martin’s tenure was just 49 days longer than the time between Scotland’s opening game, against Denmark, and final game next month, against Denmark again. Clarke will only say whether he likes the new format or not at the conclusion of the campaign.

“What it does do is take away a game against a pot five team, or maybe a pot six team in days gone by, which made the campaigns longer,” he said. “And, if you are Scottish, you probably think it takes away two banana skins…”

Greece are more than just a banana skin. They are a young, dynamic team who fully deserve to be respected and even feared. Ivan Jovanovic, their manager, is gunning for a fifth successive away win since becoming manager in August last year. One of those was the 3-0 humbling of Scotland at Hampden in March in the second leg of a Nations League play-off. Clarke was asked whether this result, after Scotland had won the first leg 1-0 away in Piraeus, might prove a good thing in the long run, since it underlined Greece’s capabilities.

“It is never a good thing getting beat 3-0 at home,” he said. “That’s never a good thing. Maybe going in it has focused everyone’s mind a little bit more. We had gone to Greece and won out there and maybe I did not make enough changes (for the second leg). I take that on the chin. The players did not quite hit the heights that they had before. If this is a chance to make amends, then hopefully that is what we do.”