Scotland boss Steve Clarke on the Rangers situation that is 'a difficult one for me to get involved in'

Steve Clarke has challenged Josh Doig to take inspiration from former Hibs teammate Ryan Porteous by taking advantage of the misfortune of others to secure a place in the Scotland squad.

Josh Doig has been promoted from the Scotland Under-21s for the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against Georgia and Norway. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

It might be expecting a little too much for the Serie A left back, who recently returned to the Hellas Verona first team following injury, to lodge himself in the starting XI, as Porteous has done since a raft of injuries provided him with the chance to stake a claim in the Nations League clash against Ukraine just over a year ago. The Watford centre-half has only missed one game since.

Doig has been called up from the Under 21s and has a job on his hands to shift injured pair Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney on a long-term basis. But their absence, alongside that of Aaron Hickey, has handed the 21-year-old the chance to make his international breakthrough.

Scotland head to Georgia next week via a two-day stop off in Turkey missing five key players. It’s not an ideal situation when the ultimate destination is a city where the international side’s record to date is: played two, lost two.

Robby McCrorie (right) trains with Angun Gunn during Scotland's trip to Cyprus in September. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

Indeed, Scotland have not so much as scored a goal in Tbilisi, scene of a traumatic 1-0 defeat under Alex McLeish in 2007 and a 1-0 loss during Gordon Strachan’s reign in 2015. It’s just as well that Clarke’s side have completed the hard work of qualifying for Euro 2024 already.

The absence of five “front-line defenders”, as the manager described it yesterday, is not as serious as it might otherwise have been. Included in this number is Grant Hanley, who is still working his way back from injury at Norwich City, and teammate Angus Gunn, the undisputed current No 1 goalkeeper. He has picked up a muscle injury and has played just 31 minutes of club football since Scotland lost 2-0 against Spain in Seville last month.

Either Liam Kelly or Zander Clark will make their competitive debut in Georgia. Clarke will make the decision over who starts the first game of the double-header – Norway visit Hampden a week on Sunday – during next week’s warm-weather training camp in Antalya, en route to Georgia.

He is contemplating playing Kelly in one game and Clark in the other. The lack of depth in the goalkeeping area is stark and so giving both as much experience as possible is key just in case Gunn is sidelined ahead of next summer’s finals. Craig Gordon is of course currently on the comeback trail at Hearts after a horrific leg break.

“I know Craig is improving, he is getting better,” said Clarke. “I think the people at Hearts are expecting him to be more involved after this international camp, which is good.”

In the meantime, Rangers No.2 Robby McCrorie has been drafted back in despite not playing a single first-team game this season. “I keep saying that Robby is one we have an eye on for the future, but he needs to play matches,” said Clarke. “He is not doing that just now. I still think that, the age he is, he can be one for the future. Hopefully he starts to get a few more games.”

Clarke revealed he has spoken to the player on a couple of occasions about his international prospects, and how they might be best served. It’s clear that continuing to sit on the bench at Ibrox is not a long-term option if he wants to develop.

“It’s a difficult one for me to get involved in because his club decide if he plays week in, week out, or whether he goes on loan,” he said. “For me, Robby is a good technical goalkeeper. He has good hands and good feet.

“He saves the ball - which is pretty important for a goalkeeper. The thing you don’t know about Robby, and what he will have to show when he gets a chance to play, is decision making on the pitch. I can’t make a decision on that until I see Robby playing some matches."

With Gunn and hopefully Gordon to come back, goalkeeper is not a position causing too much worry in the short-term - although there is clearly a long-term issue. Of more immediate concern is when Robertson, Tierney and Hickey can be expected back. All have injuries requiring time and rest. “I expect them all to be fit for (the friendlies in) March,” said Clarke.

The trio’s absence might even prove helpful for Scotland in the long run. Burn-out is an issue for elite players at major finals. It was put to Clarke that missing a chunk of the preceding season could benefit the likes of Robertson in Germany.

“They are used to playing 60 games a season their bodies are tuned into that,” he said. “Some people might benefit from having a couple of months out in the middle of a season. Some might not pick up their rhythm when they get back into it. It’s a hard one to gauge.”

Clarke has brought in Anthony Ralston of Celtic to replace Hickey at right wing-back. And he dipped into the Under 21s for Doig to give Greg Taylor competition at left back.

“It’s not too bad when you look at it,” said Clarke. “We are missing (Grant) Hanley, Souttar, Tierney, Robertson. Yet you look at what you’ve got there and you still have a good group of defenders.

“It’s similar to last September when we went to Ukraine with a lot of defensive injuries as well. Hopefully we can produce the same kind of performance. Ryan Porteous hasn’t come out of the team since and that’s the little carrot for some of them. Go on and do well and you can stay in.”