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While his performances may have left a bit to be desired – though he wasn’t alone in that – McGinn delivered plenty off the pitch.
The Villa captain was retained to give at least two interviews after each match.
And he was the first player to hold a daily media conference in camp, batting away a question about Norway’s head coach. Stale Solbakken branding clerk “unprofessional”.
The squad attended an open training session that morning, allowing children from a local school to catch a glimpse of them at work. Another sign of a new Clarke and culture change within the squad.
Then, small cracks start to appear.
During the Morocco match, Scott McTominay and Jack Hendry were caught on camera during a hydration break.
The latter laughed when it was his turn in the media spotlight in Charlotte, but the Napoli midfielder never had his say on the matter. With a brief BBC interview at the start of the camp, he escaped the media.
Even his injured club-mate, Billy Gilmour – who flew in on his leg to join the squad and Throw the ceremonial first pitch Miami Marlins at baseball game – spoke to the media.
Yet the more things change, the more they stay the same.
A completely different set-up to Euro 2024 – a tournament everyone said they learned a lot from – ended up with the same result on the pitch as the players wanted.
Big players who fail to show up in big moments even with big treatment.
Clarke – who did not comment after his furious post-match media conference after the defeat to Hungary in Stuttgart two summers ago – went a step further by resigning three days after being humbled by Brazil.
At that point, Opta still had a 42% chance of making history in Scotland, but Clarke admitted they were “going home” at that stage too.
This was a poor percentage due to meticulous planning, cost overruns and fine tuning details applied to this tournament.
So, why didn’t it work? Who knows when – or who – we’ll ask that question next.
