Hanley thanks Clarke as World Cup cap milestone looms

Grant Hanley says he’s grateful Steve Clarke kept faith with him through years of setbacks, as the Hibs defender prepares to reach a career-high 67th Scotland cap against Curaçao on Saturday—15 years after his debut.

Grant Hanley remembers leaving Hampden eight years ago after a dispiriting defeat to Costa Rica, and knowing the feeling wasn’t going to land neatly with just one bad performance.

For a player with 29 caps at the time, the night marked the start of a spell that would stretch into “wilderness years.” Alex McLeish—freshly back in charge—never selected him again. Steve Clarke came in the following year and, even then, Hanley said he was initially reluctant to pick up the phone.

The hiatus ended only after three years and two days. In March 2021, Hanley played in a World Cup qualifier against Austria that finished 2-2, and he scored the first equaliser.

That moment became the beginning of what Hanley now describes as a second international career. He played in all three games at the delayed Euros in that summer and repeated the same routine at Euro 2024.

Now, at 34, the defender stands on the brink of a career high. Hanley is poised to win his 67th Scotland cap against Curaçao on Saturday—an achievement that carries extra weight because he will do it as the oldest outfield player in Clarke’s squad. It’s also a measure of how long the story has run: Hanley has played under four permanent Scotland managers—Craig Levein. Gordon Strachan. McLeish and Clarke.

“It’s part and parcel of life and certainly part of a career in football,” Hanley said. “There are loads of highs and probably more lows. There have been some tough and testing periods along the way, but having opportunities like this, that’s what really makes it worth it.”

He added: “You just keep going, really. Get the head down and keep moving forward.”

Hanley’s durability is almost hard to picture until it’s put into time. When he made his Scotland debut as a substitute in a Nations Cup match against Wales in Dublin in May 2011. Findlay Curtis had not even started primary school. Hanley said he didn’t even realise it was 15 years until someone pointed it out.

“At the age of 34, he is the oldest outfield player in the squad,” the Scotland defender said, reflecting on how the years change you from the inside out.

Asked how the older version compares to the raw figure from his Blackburn days, Hanley’s answer came with a laugh.

“A bit older and more crabbit?” he deadpanned. “No, I think probably as a defender, a major part of that is your experience. You’ve been in every situation possible on the pitch a million times before, so you sort of pick up as you go.”

He continued: “Just the habits of the position and where you need to be at the right time. I think getting older as well. as you pick up injuries and as your body starts to change. you need to change your game a wee bit as well. I’m certainly different, certainly a bit more experienced, maybe a wee bit less aggressive on front foot. But I’d like to say that I’m better for that.”.

That trust from Clarke is something Hanley has never tried to disguise. He said Clarke’s faith has been constant, including during times when club football didn’t come easily.

Clarke’s view was summed up in his own words as well—once calling Hanley “a player that I call a man.” Hanley repaid the sentiment by describing what that faith looked like day to day.

“From my point of view, he’s certainly been unbelievable for me, the faith and the trust he’s shown in me,” Hanley said. “He’s been bringing me in and playing me consistently and even times when I was really struggling with injuries and things like that.”

He went on: “Sometimes in the last few years I haven’t really played any games (at club level). He’s shown a lot of trust in me, so certainly I will always be grateful for everything the manager’s done for me.”

Hanley’s inclusion in Clarke’s 26-man squad for the USA caps that working relationship and makes the timing feel almost too perfect for a player who once wondered if his cap career had finished.

He admitted that his France ‘98 memories are “hazy,” saying he doesn’t “really remember a lot,” but that it’s his earliest football memory because he just recalls Scotland playing a World Cup.

When he talks about what he wanted as a boy, it comes out simply.

“When you start playing football, this is the goal — to be involved in a World Cup. It is for me personally and I know the rest of the squad will tell you the same.”

With that perspective comes the awareness that the journey isn’t guaranteed for everyone. Hanley pointed to the Scotland players who wore the jersey before without getting the trip. Darren Fletcher. Barry Ferguson and Scott Brown are among the names he said had come through but never featured at the World Cup stage.

“As a nation, we’ve had some top players over the years that haven’t managed to make it,” Hanley reflected. “For the squad, I think we’re grateful for that opportunity. It’s down to everybody involved that we’ve managed to achieve that.”

Saturday’s match against Curaçao arrives with purpose, not just celebration. Hanley is aware the programme is also about preparation—Scotland face Curacao a fortnight ahead of Haiti.

After the lap of honour, though, the focus returns fast to the hard requirement that comes with qualifying.

“I don’t think it’s a secret that we would like to have performed better and progressed further in the last couple of tournaments,” Hanley said, pointing to the “two flat displays at successive Euros” that still hang over the squad’s thinking.

Qualifying, he said, isn’t enough.

“Qualifying for them is one thing. but you’ve got to give a good account of yourself and be as successful as you can. ” Hanley added. “Certainly. the players in this squad — as were the players in the previous Euros squads — are more than capable of being successful. So. that’s where our focus will be — trusting in what we’ve got and putting belief in what we’ve got in the dressing room.”.

“It’s a big achievement getting to a World Cup, but the focus now is on doing ourselves justice and being successful.”

Grant Hanley Steve Clarke Scotland World Cup Curaçao Hibs 67th cap Austria 2-2 Euros 2020 Euro 2024 Hampden Costa Rica Craig Levein Gordon Strachan Alex McLeish