Assistant coach Steven Naismith warned the media last week to expect a "different Steve Clarke". He wasn't predicting cartwheels. Yet after Scotland's first World Cup victory in 36 years — a win against Haiti on Saturday — Naismith joked that Clarke was "doing cartwheels down at breakfast".
The joke is a sign of a deeper shift. Clarke has admitted he "didn't enjoy" his first two major tournaments as Scotland head coach. This time, he insisted he would "soak it up" stateside. That message is being fed to the players.
“Scotland's first World Cup win in 36 years sparks a culture shift, with Steve Clarke 'doing cartwheels at breakfast'.”
Saturday's history makers didn't hit the Boston town. Instead, they were up at dawn on Sunday for downtime with families. "Previous tournaments there's not been that," Naismith told media on Monday, back at the squad's base camp in Charlotte, North Carolina. "Just being a dad, being a husband, being a son. That's not been there."
Clarke's relaxed approach was evident two weeks ago at Fort Lauderdale, where he unexpectedly came over to pitch-side media for a chat. Past experience suggested such openness wouldn't last — but it has. On Friday, before his pre-match news conference, Clarke joked with Eilidh Barbour that what he learned from Euro 2024 was "don't get humped".
Naismith, who never qualified for a major tournament as a player, explained the work behind the scenes: "Before the tournament, there was so much work done in terms of what the players want, what they need, what they didn't like before. Bringing the families closer, having more family time, having periods of real hard work and then going to relax."
"What we're doing now is working — and long may it continue," Naismith added.
The question now is whether Scotland can keep the cartwheels coming.