The ex-Scotland international discusses his national team's chances of World Cup qualification, and Celtic's slow start to the season.
Former Scotland international and Premier League manager Paul Lambert believes his nation is more than capable of qualifying for the World Cup despite underwhelming performances against Greece and Belarus in their last two matches.
The former Aston Villa manager emphasised the importance of the fans at Hampden Park as Scotland prepare to face Denmark in what could be a match that decides automatic World Cup qualification. Scotland are currently 500/1 in football betting odds to win the World Cup – a competition they haven’t played in since 1998.
In our exclusive interview, Lambert also discusses Celtic’s recent struggles, his time in management with Ipswich and Norwich, and Jobe Bellingham’s start to life at Borussia Dortmund.
Do you believe Scotland will qualify for the World Cup, given their performances in qualifying so far?
We’ve put ourselves in a really strong position. Whether we get first I don’t know, that will obviously depend on the Denmark game in Glasgow – which will be a tough game – but I think what the lads have done has given a bit of hope back to the country.
For a number of years, we weren’t performing. 1998 is far too long for a World Cup campaign. The guys have done great to get themselves into a position where at the very least they get a playoff place. When you play qualifying games in a group stage, it’s not about how well you play, it’s about qualifying. You can play great and not qualify but that doesn’t wash with me – you have to qualify. I would rather get there with a few iffy performances than not be there, because we as a country need it, Scotland as a country needs it as we’re only a small nation.
When we go to tournaments, the crowd get right behind it. Nobody in Scotland will care if Greece were the better team or if we didn’t play well against Belarus – if we qualify nobody is going to look at those two results and say we didn’t play well. They’ll be looking forward to the World Cup.
Scotland put themselves in a great position in World Cup qualifying – what do you think they need to do to impose themselves against Greece and Denmark?
They got the results and that’s the great thing about it. We got the results without playing well. If we can beat Greece away from home that would be great, and it sets up the Denmark game perfectly. If we can take at least a point in Greece, Hampden will be a great night when the crowd are behind you. It’ll be a hell of a game I think, especially if we need to get the result.
If we can get something from Greece it will be fabulous for us, but if we can do that and take Denmark at Hampden – as Scotland will be more than capable of beating Denmark at home because that’s the way they are. It’s always been like that, even in my day, when you play in Hampden and the crowd are behind you, it’s a difficult place for the opposition to win.
Scotland fans booed the team after their performance against Belarus despite picking up the three points – are the fans being too harsh or is it justified?
I wouldn’t say it’s justified, not when you win a game of football. Who has a divine right to win games? Nobody. Very rarely do you go to any country and get an easy game. It’s tough because you’re up against the unknown at times.
Expectancy level is important, just because it’s Belarus every Scottish person thinks it’s going to be a walkover but it’s not, and it’s never like that. But the lads and Steve Clarke got the job done.
Deep down, they know how they played and they’ll know they can play better. But that’s what happens, that’s international football for you. You have to give everybody the respect they deserve, and Belarus wouldn’t have been easy because of the expectancy level of Scotland and the fans.
Like I said, it doesn’t really matter how you do it in a group stage, you just have to try and qualify – that is the ultimate thing.
Do you think Scotland have closed the gap to other European nations in recent years? If not, what do you think is missing?
We did great to get to the Euros in Germany, I thought that was a fabulous achievement. The crowd going there had that feeling again of qualifying. It’s been too long for the World Cup campaign to kick in, but we’re definitely in a better position since Stevie took over.
I think the players are really good, a lot play in England and abroad which has helped them as well as the national team. I think since Steve Clarke came in it has certainly got a lot better.
Is Ben Gannon-Doak’s influence the key to Scotland’s success?
I think he’ll be a big player in the future if we can keep good players around him, because you’re only as good as the player next to you. If you’ve got good players next to you, your game becomes easier.
He is certainly one that you think could be around for a number of years if he keeps performing the way he is. He’ll have his ups and downs like every other player, that’s normal and hopefully he is injury free.
I think the national team at the minute, we have some players that are player at a really high level and that certainly helps.
Which current Scotland player would you most like to have played with during his career?
It’s very difficult to compare eras. I played with some world-class players but I think Andy Robertson would have been really good to play with.
Callum McGregor would’ve been good. Obviously, Callum doesn’t play for Scotland anymore. You always want to play beside good players but if I was to pick one from the Scotland team it would be Andy because of the way he plays.
How big are Steve Clarke’s shoes to fill once he leaves Scotland? Where does he rank among best ever Scotland managers?
I’ve known Stevie since I was 15, I was his boot boy at St. Mirren.
I made my debut and Stevie played behind me when I was only 15. So I know what type of person and player he was, until he obviously got his move to Chelsea.
When you look at his record of the amount of games he’s managed, it’s phenomenal. He’s beaten Craig Brown, who did a fabulous job for Scotland in the years that he was the manager.
Do I think Steve’s shoes will be hard to fill – if we qualify for the World Cup then 100 per cent because he got us to the European Championship as well. If he does it with the World Cup then that is a massive achievement and something that no other manager has really done since Craig Brown.
If Steve can do it, which I hope he does, it’s a big jacket to put on and fill.
How concerning are the issues between the fans and board at Celtic, and how do you think they can be resolved?
I think it’s definitely having a negative effect on everything. The fans have obviously got their reasons for doing it. Sometimes it’s an easy excuse to hide behind, but as a player when you step onto that field it shouldn’t be in your makeup because you can’t influence anything like that, all you can concentrate on is winning games.
The players have to look at themselves as well, they’re not getting results at this moment in time. You can only hide behind transfers and things like that for long enough.
It’s very unlike the Celtic fans, I have to say, because they are really loyal to the club and the team. But I think with what’s happening, the players are getting affected by it a little bit, but that shouldn’t really come into play. It should be about getting the job done and whatever happens off the field happens.
So is it having a detrimental effect? I think it is yes. But these things should be the furthest thing from your mind as a player.
The delays in the game against Dundee with fans throwing things on the pitch, that is an easy excuse to hide behind as well. That’s the beauty of being a Celtic player, you have to hit the standard that fans expect. When you win, that will blow over, but because they got beat it almost becomes a crisis.
If the team sat down in the dressing room and spoke about what’s going on, they would know themselves that they’re not performing to the level that a Celtic player should.
How much will Brendan Rodgers’ contract situation affect the team, and do you expect him to leave in the summer?
I don’t think as a player you should worry about what the manager is going to do.
It’s very, very rare that you play for a manager. You play for yourself, for your teammates, you play for the club. Managers will come and go, that’s what happens, that’s the nature of the game.
There were managers that I loved and loved playing under them, but once you’re out there you play for your club, play for your team and play for the supporters. You get good managers and some you maybe don’t get on with so well, but you still perform at the highest level.
Whether you like a manager or don’t like them, you perform. I think Brendan’s situation, nobody knows what’s really happening there, whether he’s going to leave or not. I don’t think anybody can take away the achievement of what he’s done for Celtic.
If someone has leaked that Brendan is maybe leaving, like what might have happened a few months ago, then that’s a coward’s way out- that should never have been in the public domain.
Brendan and the club will know what’s happening, but he has to find a way to get the lads going again.
Do you think Brendan Rodgers will stay for another season?
It wouldn’t surprise me if he does stay. Would he leave the club and take a break? I don’t know. Maybe he thinks a break and time with his family is good. But I don’t know, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he stayed.
What do the current Celtic team need to make them a European force in the seasons to come?
I think what happened this year was linked to the negativity about players coming in, or what stage the players were going to come in. Maybe they were waiting to see if Celtic were going to qualify for the Champions League so the revenue was bigger. I’m not sure what’s true or false in that scenario, but everybody expected them to get through into the main Champions League campaign.
But I think Celtic have been spoiled with year after year of being in the Champions league, so when it’s not there it’s like a juggernaut and it’s magnified into a huge thing.
So they took their medicine and went into the Europa league. But what I would say is, if Celtic got to the Europa League final, nobody in green and white wouldn’t want to go.
Half of Ireland and half of Glasgow went to the last one we were in, in 2003. I never heard anybody complaining about the Europa League being a bad competition. People came from all over the world to watch the 2003 final.
So the biggest thing is probably the shock factor of being beaten by a team in a game that everybody expected to win. But I think over the two games, the lads didn’t perform, and if you don’t perform at a European level and fall below the standard of a Celtic player then that’s what happens.
The criticism is in your contract – you have to read the small print. If you don’t win at Celtic and don’t play well, then you’re going to be criticised.
Are Hearts dangerous as title challengers?
If I was asked this in February or March I would say yes, but we’re only eight games into the competition. So whether they can sustain it I don’t know, but you’ve got to give them credit for having a little run.
But Celtic live with this pressure every day, so they know how to get through things. They might have a blip here or there, but I still expect Celtic to start to perform because of the way the club demands it. I think the lads have to look at themselves and as a team – maybe just a bit of finger pointing at where they’re going wrong, single each other out a little bit because they’re not hitting the standards the people of Celtic expect.
As one of the few men to manage both Norwich and Ipswich, what did you make of the recent East Anglian derby? Has the pendulum finally swung in Town’s favour in this rivalry?
I think Kieran Mckenna went in at a time when the new owners came in. Ipswich Town needed new owners. Marcus Evans had done a good job but it’s very difficult when you’re only one sole owner. That’s a difficult thing for any club.
I knew the club was going to be sold when I was there, I knew everything that was going on with it but I think Marcus did as good a job as he could. But I think the club needed new owners to come in and take it to that next level, because the fan base was too big. They needed that injection of money to make the training ground better, the stadium better and the team better, and they needed the fans to come back.
It’s too big a club with its history and people like Terry Butcher, George Burley, John Wark and Alan Brazil, all legends that I met. So I knew the history behind Ipswich and the values of the club, it had just lost its way a little bit.
But since Kieran went in and the new owners took over, they’ve done a great job of getting to the Premier League, with two promotions back-to-back. But on the flipside, Norwich also had that when I was there with two promotions back-to-back.
I really enjoyed my time at both clubs. At Norwich, I absolutely loved it because I had a group of players who had incredible character in the dressing room. People ask how Norwich did it and I always tell them it was the players. They’re all great guys and we had so much fun with it.
They all stuck to their task, everybody that I signed played a huge part. Ipswich was a bit different because you’re taking over a club that was in total disarray at that time. Norwich had a good core of players that maybe lost their way a bit, but they went on from there and finished 10th in the Premier league.
From the Norwich point of view, it’s a great club and I had a great time there. Ipswich was tough at the beginning because I knew Marcus was selling the club and they needed so much help.
In terms of who the pendulum is swinging towards at the minute, probably Ipswich as they have just been relegated and have the financial clout.
Kieran McKenna has been the subject of speculation with some high-profile vacancies – how long do you think Ipswich can keep hold of him?
No, I don’t think they will be able to hold onto him. I think Kieran will think he has a shelf-life at Ipswich. He’s been there for a few years now and how far he can take them I don’t know. He might want another crack at the Championship and try for promotion.
If they get to the Premier League that might change his thinking, or he might want another couple of years because I think it’s very difficult for a manger to get to the Premier League without taking a club up, unless you’re one of the big names.
It’s very difficult and that may be the only way you get an opportunity at the Premier League.
But even if you get a team promoted from the Championship, some owners might sack you before you get a kick in the Premier League because they want a big or flamboyant name – but that’s the wrong mindset.
But for Kieran, he’s done a fabulous job and if he takes them back up and keeps them in the league, I can see him staying for a few years. It will be about whether he is questioning himself about where he can now take the club.
Would you back Ipswich to kick on from here and secure an immediate promotion back to the Premier League?
Automatic promotion – I’m not so sure, but I’d like to think they can hit the top six just because of the financial side of it and the crowds they’re getting in the Championship.
But financially, I think they still have the clout to improve in January if they wanted to. So, I’d be surprised if Ipswich don’t hit the top six.
You took over Norwich at a low ebb in 2009 and turned them into champions – what is the secret to getting a stagnant club going again? And how powerful a club is Norwich when you get it going in the right direction?
Honestly, the players were brilliant. I couldn’t have asked for a better dressing room. They were honest, had a great desire and a fire in the stomach to go every game. Even the guys that didn’t play as many games made a significant contribution.
The whole atmosphere inside the stadium for games and at training, you only had to tick them along and man manage them. They knew how to play and were seasoned professionals from the lower leagues and even when we went up to the Premier League people told me to change, saying you have to bring in other names. But I thought those guys deserved a chance because they got us there.
I think we finished joint 10th in the Premier Legue that year and we more than held our own. But the character, team spirit and pure togetherness that they had couldn’t be faulted.
I always say they were the ones that did it, I didn’t do much. I ticked them along and kept them upbeat and that’s how we did it. It was an incredible dressing room.
Your successful Norwich side had a blend of hunger and experience – how important is that in the Championship?
It’s absolutely massive, but it’s not just experience as a lot of the guys came from lower leagues.
I remember when I signed Aaron Wilbraham, people thought ‘why are you signing him?’ He only cost £80,000. But believe it or not the reason I signed him was because every team that I managed, he scored against. So I always thought this guy had a jinx on me. But he was so honest.
I remember we played Tottenham at White Hart Lane, and we beat them 2-1. Wilbraham played up front with Grant Holt and gave them a tough, tough time. You can call them lower league players, but they knew how to handle themselves and could rough anyone up.
I’ll say this. You wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of Aaron Wilbraham, that’s for sure. If he told me it was dark outside, I would agree with him. I loved him to death and thought he was brilliant.
Even though some people called them lower league players, they could handle it, and they could handle the higher division. That’s how I knew I had a good dressing room.
What are your views on Liam Manning and why he has endured a slow start to life at Norwich?
He did fabulous at Bristol City. But the great thing about going to Norwich is that in Norfolk there is only one club, so everybody follows it. When you go to the game, its yellow and green everywhere, it’s a great atmosphere and people are totally obsessed with the club.
I hope Liam does really well there, and going to Norwich will be great for him. Once he puts his stamp on things then hopefully he does a good job, because if he gets success there it’s a really cool place to be.
I think he’s a really good manager so hopefully he does well.
Jack Grealish is enjoying a whole new lease of life at Everton on loan from Manchester City – what has David Moyes has done to achieve this?
When I had Jack at Villa, he was only a kid. I gave him his debut when he was a kid. I’d bring him up to train with the first team and then put him back with the kids because of the physicality of it.
He was obviously not fully developed at that time, but I could see his talent. Did we always see eye to eye? No. But as a talent, you could never fault him, the talent was always there.
He had a good time at Man City, but Everton has given him that freshness again. But David Moyes being a top manager has probably put his arm around him and said, ‘go, play and do your stuff’. He’s not put a restriction on him and allowed him to play with a freedom.
I think Everton are getting the rewards from it because the way he is playing seems more focused.
But if you ask Jack how his time at Man City was, he’d probably say he had an incredible time learning from one of the greatest managers in the modern era of football in Pep Guardiola. I think what David’s done is give him a new environment with a different stadium and new set of fans. The Everton fans have definitely taken to him.
Would you back Jack to make England’s World Cup squad?
I think England are in a really good place at the minute with how they’re performing so he’s going to have a fight on his hands with the other guys that aren’t in the team.
If you look at Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Grealish, taking them on top of what they already have, gives them one hell of a strong squad. But he’s playing well enough to force his way back in.
Unai Emery was under pressure at Villa Park earlier in the season after a slow start but has turned the tide in recent weeks, do you think Villa can finish in European places once again?
Aston Villa needed someone like him and needed new ownership as well. The size of the club and fan base was too big not to invest. So with the new owner coming in, they needed someone like Unai Emery to galvanise that place because I know how difficult it is when things aren’t going well, especially when you don’t have money to spend or invest.
A slow start can happen, but I think they’ll start to motor again. They had a great result against a really good Spurs side and they’re doing fine in Europe. I don’t think there’s too much wrong at Aston Villa, they’ve just started slow, but I think you’ll see them kicking on now.
You would still expect Aston Villa to be up in the fifth, sixth or seventh place with the type of players they’ve got.
Jobe Bellingham has had a slow start for Dortmund this season, are you confident he’ll break into the team and be a success this season?
People are overlooking how young he is. He’s only 20 years old and playing at one of the biggest clubs in the world.
Borussia Dortmund is in the top 10 of Google searched sport clubs in the world, whether it be basketball, football or rugby. This kid is 20 and has come from the Championship to an unbelievable league in the Bundesliga, with some unbelievable fanbases where you’re up against world class players.
I don’t know why there is criticism because he’s only 20. At 20, you’re at Borussia Dortmund for a reason. The club sees something in him. He’ll have his ups and downs like all 20-year-olds do. You’re not the finished article by any stretch of the imagination.
But he’s also got his brother’s shoes to fill because people think of the name Bellingham. I really like him, but I think everybody should ease back on him because at his age, he has so much to learn. Through experience and talent, and there’s huge talent there, he’ll develop. But people need to slow down a bit with him.
I’m pretty sure Niko Kovac and Dortmund will look after him, because that’s how they are as a club.
Opinion on the Ange Postecoglou losing his job at Nottingham?
I think the decision to sack Ange was really harsh. I don’t think eight games is enough for any manager, let alone in the Premiership as it’s an unforgiving league. Ange is a top manager and he showed that with Celtic and Tottenham, so I think it’s harsh.
Could you see yourself going back into management?
I’ve had offers to go back into management that I declined. I really enjoy my role with Borussia Dortmund as Technical Director of Southeast Asia. I really enjoy the unique philosophy of Dortmund and the values of the club.
At this moment I enjoy working for the club where I had a lot of success. I also like the structure here in Australia and love being back at Dortmund.
