Scotland Euro 2020 squad: Steve Clarke on his 'two difficult phonecalls', Scott McTominay plans and uncapped trio

Scotland boss Steve Clarke declared himself happy with his decisions after naming his 26-man squad for the European Championships on Tuesday afternoon.

Clarke has gone with a mixture of youth and experience in a pool that includes uncapped trio David Turnbull, Nathan Patterson and Billy Gilmour along with the nucleus of the side that helped Scotland qualify for their first major finals in 23 years.

The head coach said he feels he has got the balance right ahead of the squad flying out to a training camp in Spain next week, and has backed his young new additions from Celtic, Rangers and Chelsea to “add something to the squad”.

"I've tried to stick with the nucleus of the squad, the camaraderie and togetherness was an important part of the qualification, and added three young ones who will liven it up a bit," Clarke said.

Scotland boss Steve Clarke has named his 26-man squad for Euro 2020. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

"Nathan Patterson and David Turnbull have caught the eye up here with their performances for Rangers and Celtic and I know Billy Gilmour, a player I've known for a long time, is very well regarded at Chelsea.

"It’s been nice to see him getting a few games recently and it looks as if he's over his injury and looks like his old self.

“Maybe with the loss of Ryan Jack and Kenny McLean through injury I'll have to tweak the shape of the midfield. As a coach that's something I'll look forward to trying to do.”

Scotland head into warm-up matches against the Netherlands and Luxembourg on June 2 and 6, and Clarke insisted that places in his starting XI are still up for grabs adding: "Everyone goes to the training camp in Spain on a level footing. They've all got their chance to play their way into the team in the Euros."

On breaking the news to players who missed out on selection, Clarke added: "I tend to only work on one camp back. I had two difficult phone calls with Andrew Considine and Liam Palmer, both obviously very disappointed, but we have the opportunity to make changes to the squad up to the day of the first game of tournament.

"It's a message for everybody who had the chance to be involved to stay fit because with the Covid situation and the injury situation, you never know."

Scotland are waiting to find out the extent of Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay’s injury after he limped out of his side’s 1-1 draw with Fulham on Tuesday night.

Both McTominay and Gilmour will join up with the Scotland squad after taking part in European finals for their clubs next week.

"It's obviously great that they are both involved in major European finals," said Clarke, who confirmed he plans to utilise the versatile McTominay as a midfielder at the Euros.

"You get a little bit nervous (over injuries) when you see players being subbed off for their clubs and you're hoping there's nothing serious. There's still a few more games to go but, as I've said, players should keep themselves fit and be ready.

"I haven't done an official stand-by list, but I've spoken to some players, and I'm using this as a platform for players to stay fit and well.”

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