Scotland boss Steve Clarke admits he’s got some major decisions on whether to stick by the stars who left Ukraine rocking in midweek. But he won’t be swayed by grumbles from club bosses who fear their players being burned out by three games amid a hectic week.
He namechecked Jack Hendry, Kieran Tierney and Stuart Armstrong who could be given a breather with others ready to grab their chance. Clarke cited a lack of game time at club level with the midweek return with Ukraine to come. And there's Craig Gordon, of course, who is awaiting news of a potential late dash to the maternity ward.
But Clarke insists any decisions on team selection will be made with country, not club, at the forefront of his thinking. He said: “We’ve got decisions to make on a few – Kieran Tierney on minutes on the pitch, Jack Hendry on minutes on the pitch, Stuart Armstrong on minutes on the pitch. Pretty much those three. In terms of physical preparation Ireland will have had the better week as they’ve had a clear week to prepare while ourselves and Ukraine are playing catch-up. We don’t complain about it because we understand the reason we had to play the extra game as Ukraine is much more important than a football match.
“We’ve had a great win in midweek and we feel good about ourselves, so maybe it balances itself out. When the players come to me, I borrow them. My job is to win matches for Scotland. I try to treat all the players as well as I can but if I have to play players in all three matches in such a short space of time then that’s what I have to do.”
Predicted Scotland XI
There would be a compelling case to move Kieran Tierney in one and start Greg Taylor at left back, however, the Arsenal standout is an unlikely central choice in a back four - with Clarke trusting both Tierney and Scott McTominay to start in the heart of the defence when it is a back three. The case for Hendry to remain in the starting XI is a compelling one as the Cremonese loanee was faultless in the win over Ukraine. Armstrong was a force midweek but, perhaps, the time is right for Ryan Fraser to start after his two assists from the bench.
