Steve Clarke faces Scotland squad dilemmas for double-header as Cieran Slicker begins restoration job

He names his squad for next month’s vital World Cup double header against Greece and Belarus on Tuesday lunchtime. Depending on how these games pan out, it could be the penultimate squad he announces in his current role.

Which games did he attend this weekend? There were many options following some eye-catching performances from Scotland players last week.

Berlin on Sunday night, where Union Berlin hosted SV Hamburg, was one match of interest. Clarke is under pressure to include Oli Burke, who became the first Scot to score a hat-trick in the Bundesliga the previous weekend.

Each one of the goals he scored in his side’s 4-3 win at Eintracht Frankfurt spoke of his qualities, frustratingly seldom seen in a Scotland shirt. He scored the winner in Clarke’s first match in charge against Cyprus six years ago. He hasn’t played since a defeat to Israel five years ago. Hat-trick or not, it’s still a big call for Clarke to bring him back in. Burke’s fairly anonymous follow-up performance against Hamburg, when he was withdrawn after 69 minutes, might not have convinced Clarke of the need to do this.

George Hirst, one of the contenders to drop out if the manager is to recognise the deeds of others, scored for Ipswich Town in their win over Portsmouth on Saturday.

The in-form Hearts man

And what about Lawrence Shankland? A different player to Burke, of course. If the latter is to be included in Clarke’s latest squad, it will be for his speed and ability to get Scotland up the pitch as much as his scoring ability. Shankland doesn’t offer much in the way of explosive pace. However, he does provide an undoubted goal threat. He followed up his match-winning double against Rangers two weekends ago with a goal in high-flying Hearts’ 3-0 win over Falkirk.

It was his 163rd goal in the “SPFL era” if that sort of statistic impresses you, which one imagines it won't in the case of Clarke. He must have more interest in the here and now. He also appears to prefer goals scored in England rather than Scotland.

Clarke’s Shankland conundrum is just as intriguing as his Burke one although one wonders if it’s even a conundrum for the manager, whose loyalty to those already in the mix has been a feature of his tenure. It’s hardly fair for Kieron Bowie, for example, to make way for anyone, particularly when there was so much hysteria about him not being given any minutes in the last double header against Denmark and Belarus.

The weekend just past was an important one in terms of final player assessments as Clarke bids to ensure his reign stretches into next year and extends well past becoming the Scotland manager who has overseen most games.

He will equal Craig Brown’s 71-game total against Greece and exceed it a few days later versus Belarus. The clutch moment of his reign is imminent. Three points in the first match against the Greeks at Hampden appears a non-negotiable if the Scots wish to clinch top spot in the group and an automatic place at next summer’s tournament. Happily for Clarke, there are several first-team regulars clearly coming into good form. John McGinn, who scored for the second successive game for Aston Villa in their win over Fulham at the weekend, is one of them. Ryan Christie is getting plenty of game-time at Bournemouth, who are on a four-game unbeaten run in the Premier League.

Grant Hanley, meanwhile, was a pivotal part in Hibs securing a point at Celtic Park on Saturday courtesy of a 0-0 draw. Aaron Hickey played at left back in Brentford’s 3-1 win over Manchester United, his first Premier League start since October 2023.

Some key Scotland men struggling for minutes

On the less positive side, Ben Gannon-Doak, who will surely be instrumental if Scotland are to win against Greece, has played only 17 or so minutes for Bournemouth since his man of the match performance against Belarus earlier this month.

Kieran Tierney, meanwhile, is struggling at Celtic, where he’s fighting for his first-team place following Uruguayan international Marcelo Saracchi’s strong performance against Hibs. Tierney did not get on the pitch at all amid fitness concerns. Is it beyond the realms to wonder whether Clarke might be requested not to pick him by his club? And if he is selected, would he even start either of the two games? Probably not.

Goalkeeper remains the thorniest of thorny issues. Despite such a strong performance against Denmark, Angus Gunn has slipped to third in the goalkeeper hierarchy at Ange Postecoglou’s Nottingham Forest.

The nearest he has come to a first-team appearance since his last outing for Scotland against Belarus was making it to the bench for the Carabao Cup clash against Swansea City. Liam Kelly and Zander Clark, who made up the goalkeeper trio in the previous squad, haven’t fared much better. Neither of them has made an appearance since, unless you count Kelly’s turn as a talking head in Rangers’ pre-match press conference for a game he didn’t play in against Hibs two weekends ago.

It might be too soon to point out that Cieran Slicker, who endured such a torrid international debut when unfairly sent on against Iceland in June, recently saved two penalties in one game for Barnet, where he is on loan from Ipswich. It’s heartening to note that the 23-year-old’s confidence is being quietly restored in League Two in England.