'Good to have in locker' - Steve Clarke points to major Scotland asset as goalkeeper decision made

It’s highly likely the Scots need a result against Greece in Piraeus on Saturday night to keep the issue alive until they host Denmark on Tuesday.

The Danes face Belarus in Copenhagen when Scotland are taking on Greece. While the Belarusians came very close to earning a draw at Hampden last month, Clarke is working on the assumption that Denmark will not slip up against a team ranked 100 in the world.

He has calmed down – nearly – since the aftermath of the narrow 2-1 win over Belarus. The nervy performance – Belarus had an equaliser ruled out in the second half after a VAR check for a foul on Scott McTominay in the build-up - saw Scotland come close to blowing the chance to secure a play-off place.

But the prize the Scots really want in what is almost certainly Clarke’s last qualifying campaign in charge is the guarantee of a World Cup berth. A draw or a win in Greece coupled with a win against Denmark would guarantee the country returning to the stage for the first time since 1998. “Sorry to disappoint you…” the reliably poker faced Clarke answered, when asked if it has dawned on him how close Scotland are.

“The players knew the stakes were so high last time, which is maybe why they probably panicked a little bit during the Belarus game,” he explained.

“They maybe lost sight of what they were actually trying to do which was win the game comfortably. Look, I spoke right at the very start with the first couple of squads I picked.

“I talked about getting experience into the squad and taking that experience onto the pitch at this level. I think you could see, in the games we didn’t play quite so well in at home, we managed to find a way to win. That’s a really good thing to have in your locker.”

Who will play goalkeeper for Scotland?

He reported that all the players have arrived fit and well in Greece following a warm-weather camp in Turkey. The major issue is over who replaces injured goalkeeper Angus Gunn.

Remarkably, at the age of nearly 43 Craig Gordon looks set to return to the team to win his 82nd cap having not played a single competitive game this season. Although he confirmed he had already made his decision over the goalkeeper, Clarke was giving little away during a press conference at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium on the eve of the match.

“Craig is good,” he said. “Liam (Kelly) is the same, despite not playing at Rangers but working ever so hard and training great. Scott Bain has come into the squad and shown that he’s benefitted from coming out of Celtic as the third goalkeeper and playing at Falkirk every week.

“No, it’s been good. (Goalkeeper coach) Chris Woods has been happy with the three of them. My decision is based on who I feel is the best for the team on the night.”

He revealed he has not confirmed his starting XI to the players but having had the rare luxury of a full week to prepare for the match, he reckoned “they have a fair idea” who’s playing.

They will also be well drilled regarding the tactical plan, which Clarke stressed was based on going for a win. Although a point is as rewarding in terms of Scotland’s automatic qualifying ambitions, the manager is keen to avoid the potential pitfalls that often come with playing for a draw. “My approach is always the same to every game," he said. "I prepare my teams to win. If you prepare to win and you play as well as you can then most of the time you don’t lose.”