Steve Clarke takes charge of Scotland for the first time when Cyprus visit Hampden on Saturday in a crucial European Qualifier, live on Sky Sports.

Scotland are in real need of victory after losing their opener in Kazakhstan but new boss Clarke is hoping the positivity and confidence of captain Andy Robertson - fresh from his Champions League success with Liverpool - rubs off on his team-mates.

"It was great to have him there. It's obviously, a massive achievement for Andy and hopefully the lads can feed off that.

"There has been a few in the group who had successful seasons, the Celtic lads, Kenny McLean (Norwich), John McGinn (Aston Villa) have all finished the season feeling good about themselves.

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"So we have a lot in the group who have had a positive end to the season and hopefully when we get the team on the pitch on Saturday night we can continue that positivity."

Clarke is preparing for the first game of a double-header which includes a trip to group favourites Belgium in Brussels on Tuesday night.

The Scots began their campaign with a shock 3-0 defeat in Kazakhstan and a 2-0 win in San Marino, which led to the departure of Alex McLeish and the former Kilmarnock boss stepping in as manager.

"It has been very enjoyable," said Clarke. "We have given them the basics and if you get the basics right and don't
clutter the players too much with science and allow them to express themselves, hopefully that will be good enough to get three points.

"I said before about it being the pinnacle of my career and standing out there in front of the supporters as manager of the national team will be an emotional occasion for me. Hopefully I don't burst into tears. I am proud to be the manager of the national team but now the work starts."

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Team news

Clarke has revealed he will inform his squad of Saturday's starting XI on Friday evening.

"When I came in I was open minded about the starting group maybe with exception of three or four players," he said. "As the week has gone on I have got closer and closer, I know in my mind the starting XI."

Kilmarnock trio Stuart Findlay, Greg Taylor and Eamonn Brophy, along with Livingston goalkeeper Liam Kelly and Aberdeen defender Michael Devlin are hoping to win their first caps.

Opta stats

• Scotland have won their five previous encounters with Cyprus by an aggregate score of 20-4, although this is just the second meeting in the 21st century (also November 2011).
• This is the first competitive meeting between Scotland and Cyprus since a World Cup 1990 qualifier in April 1989 in which Scotland won 2-1.
• Cyprus have conceded 10 goals in their two away games versus Scotland, losing 0-8 in May 1969 and 1-2 in April 1989.
• This will be Steve Clarke's first match as Scotland manager; the last manager to win his first game in charge was Gordon Strachan in February 2013 versus Estonia.
• Only Celtic (146) and Rangers (131) won more points in the Scottish Premiership than Kilmarnock (120) registered during Steve Clarke's tenure at the club (Oct 2017 to May 2019).
• Scotland have lost just two of their last 12 competitive matches, winning eight of those fixtures (D2). They lost to Kazakhstan in March and Israel in October 2018.
• Cyprus have picked up just two victories in their last 15 matches in all competitions (W2 D3 L10) - beating San Marino 5-0 in March 2019 and Slovenia 2-1 in September 2018.
• Only Eden Hazard (15) provided more assists in Europe's top five leagues in 2018-19 than Scotland's Ryan Fraser (14).

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