IT has been a week of ups and downs for Scotland fans. On the one hand, the chances of our national team qualifying for a major tournament, a feat that was increasingly becoming as likely as sighting a mythical creature like Nessie or Marvin Compper, seemed to be greatly boosted by the appointment of Steve Clarke as manager. On the other, FIFA’s plans to expand the World Cup to 48 teams from the now traditional 32 next time around in Qatar hit the skids.

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