SCOTLAND have had the first drama of their Euro 2020 training camp. Head coach Steve Clarke is just relieved that it didn’t turn into a crisis.

The news of John Fleck’s positive Covid-19 test result at the national side’s training base in Alicante sent hearts aflutter among the Tartan Army yesterday, but as unfortunate as it is for Fleck, the good news is that no other players have been affected.

The strength of Clarke’s Scotland side is their togetherness, the bonds the players have forged over the last couple of years. So it has been a tricky balancing act for the manager to foster that spirit while making sure his men adhere to Coronavirus protocols.

“I’ve always said it, when we’ve been coming up against teams who have had outbreaks, that it could be us at any time,” Clarke said.

“It’s unconfirmed but I’ve also heard that the Dutch have had to send a player home for similar reasons.

“It’s out there. You’re going to have to deal with it and be reactive. That’s why UEFA decided on bigger squads with an opportunity to replace players right up until the first match. Nobody can control what’s out there with this virus.

“All we can do is try and control our own environment and mitigate the risk as much as possible. And also continue good training work.

“But as a group we want to be close, but not too close. We want to continue that without losing the team spirit by keeping players stuck in their bedrooms.

“We just need to get the work done that we need from these training days. Let’s not forget we have two friendly games which are important. We want to work on things and give players game time as well as look at things tactically.

“We want to be in the best possible shape going into the first game against the Czech Republic on June 14.

“We don’t know how [John’s infection] happened. But we’re 99.9 percent sure that John would have had it before he came to Spain with the incubation period. Hopefully it’s a one-off and an isolated case.”

Another challenge is making sure that Fleck – who will remain in the squad – also remains fit, and doesn’t become too detached from the squad during his period of self-isolation.

“I’ve spoken to John, he’s fine and has no symptoms,” said Clarke. “We’ll try and make his time stuck in his room as good as possible for him.

“We’ll get an exercise bike into his room and keep him moving. And we’ll look after him, that’s all we can do.

“But we don’t really want that situation to be the big story. The big story is that we’re in camp and had a fantastic time up until now.

“The training has been good, everything has been top notch, and the only thing we haven’t really controlled very well is the weather.”

The first test on the park for Scotland will come tonight in their first warm-up game for the tournament, and what a test it will be. The rest of the squad left Fleck behind yesterday to fly to Portugal and a meeting with The Netherlands.

Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay and Chelsea’s Billy Gilmour will also take no part in the game having been given time off to recuperate from their club’s European finals over the last week, a novel problem surely for a Scotland manager to contend with.

Clarke is looking forward to seeing if the fine fettle his players appear to be in during training translates to a good performance against a side ranked 16th in the FIFA standings.

“The attraction of this first game was that Holland will give us a good test,” Clarke explained.

“The Dutch play have their own style but it’s not dissimilar to how the other teams in the group will play against us. So that’ll give us a good test and a good understanding.

“It’ll also give us a little look, in a non-competitive game, at where our own strengths and weaknesses are within our own system. And tell us where we can brush up on before we get to the tournament. So that was the thinking behind taking this game.

“We’ll probably mix and match the team in the two friendly games as it’s important to give players game time. It’s important also that no matter who plays everyone has an understanding of what’s required. With the potential Covid issues going forward it’s vital that everyone understands their role.

“We just want to make sure that we have the best available team on the pitch for that first game. And everybody ready to help out.

“But the Dutch will be at it. And we’ll be at it as well, It’s a big game. Sometimes pre-tournament friendly games are not the most competitive because players have one eye on the tournament. But both countries will want to do well in the game. It’ll be a good test and I’m sure we’ll learn a lot from this game.”