SCOTLAND manager Steve Clarke has confessed that telling the two players he has chosen to cut from his 28 man squad that they will not be going to Euro 2024 will be a “horrible” experience.
Clarke has to let UEFA know which 26 players he will be taking to Germany before 11pm - but he will inform the unfortunate pair who will not be travelling of his decision before the friendly international against Finland at Hampden this evening.
The former Chelsea full-back was devastated when he was overlooked by his country for Italia ’90, Euro ’92, Euro ’96 and France ’98 and confessed it was the worst aspect of his job.
“There’s two boys who will miss out,” he said after taking an open training session in front of hundreds of schoolkids at Hampden yesterday. “But there’s more than that who will be wondering whether or not they are going.
“I’m still pondering exactly when to do it. It’s obviously a difficult one as you don’t want to drag it on. I would imagine I’ll do it some time today or in the morning, just to take away the immediate disappointment for the players, then get on with the game against Finland.
“We still have a game to play, so I need to keep them primed. If something happens in the game with injuries, then the two who miss out might have a chance of being involved again. It is quite complicated. It’s certainly not an easy decision in terms of breaking the news and knowing when to do it.”
“Then you’ve got a young man like Ben Doak who comes in with hope. Unfortunately, his knee wasn’t going to stand up to the rigours of working for a month.
‘You’ve got a young man who thinks he’s going to make his debut for his country and going to a major tournament – and you’ve then got to have that difficult conversation with him.
“I’ve had several difficult conversations already and I know I’ve still got two more ahead of me in terms of the boys who miss out. I’ve got a day off on Saturday. Hopefully I can sit back and feel more relaxed, rather than having to chase more players if we were to pick up any more injuries.”
Clarke yesterday called up former St Mirren and Celtic winger Mikey Johnston of New York Red Bulls as a replacement for Liverpool youngster Doak. He drafted in Scotland Under-21 striker Tommy Conway of Bristol City earlier this week after Queens Park Rangers centre forward Dykes was ruled out.
Meanwhile, Clarke has assured Scotland fans that “Rolls Royce” midfielder Scott McTominay will be ready to play in the Euro 2024 opener against Germany after the Manchester United man came through a full training session.
McTominay, who scored seven goals for his country in their successful qualifying campaign, suffered a knock in United’s win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley last month.
The 49-times capped 27-year-old will not start against Finland – but his manager is confident he will be fit enough to play in the first Group A match in the Allianz Arena in Munich a week today.
“Scott is fine,” he said. “He trained today. That was the first time he’s trained since he had that kick on the ankle in the FA Cup final for Man United. He won’t start against Finland, but he will come on to the pitch at some stage. He’ll be fine, 100 per cent. He’s a Rolls-Royce.”
Clarke also confirmed that Leeds United centre-half Liam Cooper, who came off in the first-half of the 2-0 win over Gibraltar in Faro on Monday night, had made a full recovery and Stuart Armstrong, who has not trained since joining up with the national squad last week, was progressing nicely.
“Liam is fine,” he said. “He trained this morning. It was just a bang on the knee. Those can obviously be painful, but it was nothing more serious than that. When he picked up the knock the other night, I made sure we took him off straight away. We didn’t take any risks. Liam is a tough guy, he’ll be fine.
“With Stuart, he’s in the very last stage of his rehab. We expect he’ll get the all-clear to start training on Monday when we’re in Germany. If everything goes according to plan, and with the final checks from the medics, Stuart should be available for the Germany game as well, albeit probably not to start.”
