Steve Clarke shows audacious side with Scotland squad with Portobello Pirlo and new Andy Considine

While we will never know to what extent Steve Clarke’s recent audaciousness at squad announcement time has been dictated by injury as well as the needs of the Under-21s, he has again demonstrated willingness to try something a little different.

It is all relative, of course. Three fresh names in a squad of 23 players for this month’s Nations League double header against Croatia and Portugal is hardly pushing the envelope. Bringing back a 41-year-old goalkeeper for another last dance and then stressing Craig Gordon is very much in the running for the No. 1 jersey is not necessarily evidence of blue sky thinking.

However, even many long-time Scotland observers raised their eyebrows at the sight of Andy Irving’s name on Clarke’s latest squad list for the upcoming Nations League matches against Croatia and Portugal.

The former Hearts midfielder has curated a fascinating career for himself. The latest chapter – playing, albeit briefly to date, for West Ham United in the Premier League – is perhaps the most surprising twist yet.

Irving has gone from the third tier in Germany, where he played for Turkgucu Munchen, to Austria’s top tier with Klagenfurt to West Ham United via some games of five-a-sides (after Turkgucu Munchen folded) at Portobello, where he's from.

Steve Clarke has named a 23-man squad for Scotland's upcoming Nations League matches. | SNS Group

Hearts fans still refer to him as the “Portobello Pirlo”, only partly in jest. West Ham United supporters are similarly taken, having been beguiled by the midfielder’s backstory among the big money signings in their team, most of whom are currently underperforming. They like what they’ve seen of Irving when he’s come on, most recently for the final minute of last weekend’s 1-1 draw against Brentford.

One wonders whether sidelined Bees star Aaron Hickey was watching from the stand. Irving was in the side when Hickey made his full debut for Hearts against Celtic at Celtic Park in May 2019. They have both since taken very different roads to the top flight in England as well as the international arena, with Hickey’s progress having been severely interrupted by a prolonged hamstring injury. Following a recent setback there is still no indication when the full back will be back playing football again, for club or country. It’s possible to argue that his absence defined Euro 2024 for Scotland.

Still only 22, there’s plenty of time for Hickey to regain momentum. In the meantime, Irving, another of Craig Levein’s prodigies, has moved into the international spotlight. It's one of the most outlandish Scotland player narratives of recent times. As with Ryan Gauld at the last double header, Clarke is clearly eager to see Irving up close and personal for the first time in a while.

“The first time I came across Andy, I was managing with Kilmarnock,” reflected Clarke. “He was playing for a Hearts team as a very young man, still growing into his frame a little bit. I think he's surprising everybody with the choices that he made to move abroad and, in a roundabout way, ending up in the English Premier League. It'll be nice to see him again up close."

At 24, and one of three players in the squad born in this millennium, Irving helps bring the average age down too. That isn’t something that can be said about two other new faces, Liam Lindsay and Nicky Devlin. The former, who turns 29 later this month, has been playing with little fanfare – our bad, not his - in the English Championship for six seasons now. Now at Preston North End, this is his seventh campaign in what some would describe as the next best league outside of Europe’s traditional top five. He deserves a chance, particularly in light of centre-halves falling like flies just now. “Obviously we're very short of defenders,” lamented Clarke. “We seem to be in the middle of a horrendous run of injuries to defenders, especially.”

Liam Lindsay has been given a maiden call-up. | Getty Images

It is certainly no slight on either Lindsay or Nicky Devlin to say they could be the next Andy Considine. The former Aberdeen defender earned his first cap at the ripe old age of 33 and did not let Scotland down in a period when they qualified for Euro 2020. Many very good footballers never fortunate enough to get near a Scotland squad would dearly love to have done an ‘Andy Considine’, with the defender ending up with three caps.

“I think it's important that everybody recognises there are different ways to get to the top, if you like,” said Clarke. "I think your international squad selection is certainly getting to the top of your career.

"I've shown in the past that I'm not afraid to pick boys that have been around and have been dependable club professionals. One that springs to mind is probably Andy Considine, who came in late in his career and did very well for us.

"Hopefully the boys that we've picked now, certainly the two more senior players, Nicky and Liam, can come in and grab the chance."

It’s funny the way football works out. Devlin also has a birthday this month – 31 in his case. As recently as Saturday he was sitting in a room inside Dens Park that doubles for the Dundee press suite following Aberdeen’s 2-1 win. With the forthcoming Scotland squad announcement in mind, he was asked about his international prospects and whether, given Scotland’s problems at right back in the absence of Hickey and Nathan Patterson, he had given a call-up much thought.

Nicky Devlin of Aberdeen has also been included. | SNS Group

“If it had been something I had been involved in before and come back out of the set-up then it might be a different story, but it is not something I have ever been involved in,” he stressed.

“Listen, the players who are still there are at big clubs. While they continue to perform for their country then it is not really my biggest concern. I want to win games for Aberdeen.”

There's nothing to stop him continuing doing that. But now he has upcoming dates with Luka Modric and Ronaldo to relish too.