World Cup 2026: Why Scotland can’t play for draw or narrow defeat against Brazil

“One of them was the Czech Republic game, 4-6-0 (in 2010), where a draw would have been a really good result. The game wasn’t great and neither team threatened, but we lost the goal in a set-piece.

“So you can plan what you want to play for a certain result, but football is so random that you’re not guaranteed to get it.”

Levine believes Clarke’s demeanor and approach to training, gameplans and team selection will be more influential in the players’ psyches than just a point-need discussion.

For example, the inclusion of winger Ben Gannon-Doke could send a message that Scotland are going to be more attacking going forward.

“As a manager you get a feel for where the players are,” Levene said.

“You look at it and you think: maybe if we put in another attacking player, it gives everybody the idea that it’s time to take off the chains and go.”