Steve Clarke is intent on ensuring Scotland manage the development of Ben Doak properly in order to ensure he fulfils his potential in a dark blue jersey.
The 18-year-old Liverpool winger – on loan at Middlesbrough – made his international debut as a substitute against Poland last month and then got his first start in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat away to Croatia.
Clarke is excited about Doak’s emergence but wary of stunting the teenager’s progress by placing too much pressure on his shoulders.
“You’ve always got the balancing act,” said the manager. “We know Ben is a talent. We want him here for the next 15 years, not the next 15 months.
“As I always say, don’t put too much pressure on him. He’s just a young man. He will make mistakes in the game, he will do some really good things in the game.
“We’ve got to get the balance right between giving Ben the opportunity to play, because he’s more than capable, but also making sure we protect him a little bit and don’t overhype him.
“Sometimes maybe in the past there have been players that have been a little bit overhyped that don’t fulfil their potential.
“The most important thing for Ben is that he fulfils his potential and if we can help him do that, that’s what we’ll try and do.”
Asked if Doak was ready to play against Portugal on Tuesday after his exertions in Zagreb, Clarke said: “Physically ready, yeah, for sure. It’s just whether I choose to start him or not, that will be my choice.”
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Doak is one of several new faces being integrated into the squad, partly as a result of a spate of injuries to senior players. With seven uncapped players in the current squad, Clarke is mindful of the need to strike a balance between experienced and fresh faces.
“It’s very important that we get that,” he said. “Andy Robertson, for example, with 77 caps, I thought he was absolutely outstanding the other night for us.
“He’s our captain, he’s a leader, he’s grown into that role and he’s been great for his country over the years.
“And getting the balance between the players that are capped, someone gave me a number for young Billy Gilmour – Billy’s one of the youngsters, but he’s got 33 caps already, so we’re already starting to grow the next generation of players.
“As well as trying to be good now, I’m also trying to leave a little group of players that are ready to go and carry on so we don’t go 20 years (without qualifying for a tournament) after this group of players stop.”
