Scotland's remarkable xG stat versus Spain that makes case for striker upgrade as Steve Clarke considers Harvey Barnes question

Steve Clarke is the last person to talk himself up and yet it was not false modesty that saw him decry his own strike record when discussion turned to the matter of Billy Gilmour's long awaited first goal for his country – for anyone in fact – after Scotland's 4-1 defeat in France on Tuesday.

"I never bothered too much with scoring," said the Scotland manager. "I either scored or I hit row Z in the stand. I was never a finisher.”

All this was true. A very fine full-back though he was, Clarke left the job of hitting the back of the net to the likes of the late Frank McDougall during his days with St Mirren and Kerry Dixon at Chelsea.

Being a finisher was not a major requirement in his playing days. Finding one has been a recurring theme of his time in charge of Scotland.

Harvey Barnes of Newcastle United v Brentford earlier this season. The forward is currently injured but is reportedly willing to switch from England to Scotland (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

No one can say he hasn’t been imaginative as well as largely successful with his recruitment of Lyndon Dykes and Che Adams. The latter was parachuted into the group shortly before the last European Championships. It’s reaching that kind of time again.

Picture the scene. It is Cologne or Frankfurt or some other city steeped in football culture in the host nation next summer. Clarke is performing his duties at the – ghastly phrase alert – match-day minus one media conference.

“So Steve,” comes the first question. “How much is Harvey Barnes looking forward to making his competitive debut for Scotland on such a grand stage?”

The Newcastle United forward is currently injured but is due back some time in the New Year. It might be a race against time to get him fit. There’s also the little matter of convincing him to switch nationality to Scotland having already been capped by England, although the 25-year-old is reportedly willing.

Billy Gilmour is greeted by manager Steve Clarke after being substituted on the night he scored his first-ever goal. Unfortunately it could not prevent Scotland losing 4-1 to France (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Three successive defeats to top-tier teams have served as a reminder of where Scotland need to be to make an impact at tournaments. Chances have gone a-begging. Scotland posted two of the three highest xG scores that have been recorded against Spain (1.49 in Glasgow, 1.28 in Seville) stretching back 28 games; only Italy (1.79) in June created more high quality scoring opportunities against La Roja.

Nevertheless, Adams has scored just once in his last 13 appearances while Dykes has one in 11. Loyalty is one thing. A chance to blood a striker worth nearly £40 million at the time of his last transfer is quite another, especially at this crucial stage of pre-finals prepping.

“You are always looking,” said Clarke. “But everybody is always trying to get me to pick other people. I like the squad I’ve got. I like what they give me and what they give their country. I like the fact they turn up every time. Sometimes they don’t get minutes on the pitch and they still come and they still support the rest of the lads. I like what I have but I’m never going to close my eyes and ears to something that might improve us in the future."

Barnes, he noted, is out for three months. “It is not a conversation for now,” Clarke added. “It’s not really a conversation going forward. Like I say, I like the squad I've got." Liverpool’s Ben Doak, who missed Scotland Under-21s win over Malta on Tuesday because of injury, is someone the manager promised to “keep an eye on”.

There isn’t a crisis – Scotland have qualified for a major finals with two games remaining after all. But there’s room for improvement and just four friendlies, as well as next month’s concluding Group A fixtures, to put into practice what’s been learned from an intensive workshop provided by the likes of Jude Bellingham, Rodri and Kylian Mbappe recently.

Scotland are at least blessed with a number of players who can and have weighed in from midfield. John McGinn won his 60th cap on Tuesday in Lille. It seems an appropriate time to reflect on his goals tally of 19, which means his next one takes him above Ally McCoist and out on his own as Scotland fifth highest goalscorer.

Scott McTominay, meanwhile, has scored six in his last seven caps. Of course, everyone knows he ought to be sitting on seven for the campaign, which would put him just behind Romelu Lukaku and Cristiano Ronaldo in the Euro 2024 top scorers' list. Sadly, his free-kick curler against Spain was scrutinised out of existence.

Others, too, are good for a goal – Kenny McLean scored a memorable winner in Norway. Stuart Armstrong is another threat in front of goal, though it's tougher to score when coming off the bench for the most part for late cameos. He almost got what would have been a fifth goal in 46 appearances earlier this week but saw his well-hit drive blocked by France 'keeper Mike Maignan.

And then there’s the aforementioned Gilmour. He has been conspicuous by his seeming aversion to scoring. It didn’t mean he wasn’t any less valuable to the team. He was dictating a lot of the play and creating the base for his teammates to break forward.

It’s just he wasn’t likely to hit a screamer into the corner of the net. He recently revealed that even his father had started to make fun of The Footballer Who Could Not Score.

He conceded to reporters before the recent England clash that it was becoming a bit of an issue. It was as if France Eduardo Camavinga midfielder had read one of the features that subsequently appeared in newspapers a few weeks ago. He certainly provided a very thoughtful assist for Gilmour's unerring finish.

“For Billy, it is important,” acknowledged Clarke, when asked about Gilmour finally getting off the mark. “We try to encourage him not just to be the creative playmaker but at the right time to join in going forward. He was on the end of a nice one-two with Camavinga!"

It isn’t Gilmour’s job to be a goalscorer. It’s someone else’s. Scotland’s Euro 2024 prospects could hinge on who that someone else might be.