Steve Clarke reveals Scotland text message barrage - but boss stands firm with squad

The 23-man group, for a World Cup qualifying double header against Greece and Belarus to which one is obligated to affix the term ‘crunch’, still managed to cause plenty of agitation despite running along expected lines.

Except for the return of veteran goalkeeper Craig Gordon, no other name on the sheet merited raised eyebrows. It was more who had been left out that quickly became a talking point, although even then it’s hard to claim the omissions were not anticipated.

Only those with little knowledge of the loyal Scotland manager might have deemed them curious. These people might very well have questioned the absence of Lawrence Shankland, who has scored three times in his past two appearances for Premiership leaders Hearts, including a match-winning double against Rangers.

They might also have wondered why Scotland have no need for a player who has just scored a hat-trick in the Bundesliga, becoming the first Scot to do so.

Impressive, yes. But worthy of a Scotland recall? Well, no. Not yet, according to Clarke. Oli Burke’s three goals for Union Berlin against Eintracht Frankfurt created an understandable stir but perhaps also understandably, the manager wants to see sustained evidence of form found.

Clarke’s phone was red-hot after Oli Burke show

The striker was replaced after 69 minutes of a largely anonymous follow-up performance against SV Hamburg on Sunday night. Illustrating just how long it’s been since Burke scored for Scotland is that this goal, his only one so far for the international team, came in Clarke’s first game after being appointed in May 2019. The manager is now on the brink of creating the record for most games in charge. It means Burke’s strike, to earn a win over Cyprus, was 70 games ago.

It didn’t take long for Clarke to hear about the Fifer’s three-goal haul in the 4-3 win over Eintracht Frankfurt two weekends ago. “I got a lot of text messages when Oli hit that hat-trick,” he noted. “It was good to see because obviously he's a big talent."

Clarke also knew what to expect. A nine-day clamour for Burke to be reinstated in the squad. Does he find such pressure easy to ignore?

“Yes, to be honest!” he said. On Burke, he was quite clear. He needs to see more. “He was in some of my earlier squads,” said Clarke. “He's sort of drifted a little bit over the last five years. If he can find a home and settle down and play well week in week out, then that will be good for us."

The manager provided some insight into what he does on the weekend prior to a squad announcement, particularly when there were genuinely compelling cases for the inclusion of a pair of semi-forgotten international stars from the recent and not-so-recent past. Shankland, remember, was in the Euro 2024 squad last summer. “I know what he can bring to the squad,” said Clarke.

“I just felt the forward players that we had in the last camp did well and did well in the games. They've done well for their clubs in between. I didn't see too much reason to change."

And there is the nub of it. Four points secured against Denmark and Belarus, which Clarke now admits was the minimum total required, mean that he is in a strong position to argue that he’s right to go with largely the same group of players again.

McGinn-Ferguson show pleases Clarke

Although he did not attend any game in person, Clarke did sit down and assess several different players over the weekend, including Burke. “I didn't watch the whole game,” he said. “I watched his hat-trick. Some great finishes.

“I just try to pick up as many players as I can across the weekend," he added. Clarke was present at Villa Park for Aston Villa v Bologna in the Europa League last Thursday. “John McGinn against Lewis Ferguson, which was really nice,” he said. “A European game, an English club against an Italian club with two Scottish captains. That was a good thing to see."

Despite areas of the pitch where Scotland are clearly lacking, it’s important to note that four Serie A players are again included in the midfield group. An asterisk next to Billy Gilmour’s name denoted his performance school graduate background but there ought to have been one next to Scott McTominay’s name. He recently came 18th in the Ballon d’Or placings, the first Scottish male footballer to be included on the list since Ally McCoist. Clarke said he would congratulate McTominay in person when he saw him.

Another asterisk should perhaps be included alongside Craig Gordon’s name. At 42, his inclusion having recovered from a neck problem marks another remarkable achievement in the life of a goalkeeper who refuses to concede defeat – or take heed of the march of time. He has replaced clubmate Zander Clark.

“None of the frontline goalkeepers for me were starting for their clubs,” acknowledged Clarke. He is still expected to start with Angus Gunn, who is now third choice at Nottingham Forest. Rustiness did not hamper Gunn on a testing night in Copenhagen, where he stood strong in the 0-0 draw. Clarke explained that while lack of match practice is not so debilitating in the case of a specialist position such as goalkeeper, it might become an issue later in the season.

Gordon is on standby. The last of his 81 caps to date came in the 3-0 Nations League defeat to Greece at Hampden earlier this year. He would relish the chance to resume his storied international career against the same opposition and in circumstances where a win would count for so much more than just revenge.