JACK IT IN STEVEN
Clarke: I didn’t flog Ryan to death in training
STEVE CLARKE has attempted to call a truce with Steven Gerrard in their injury row over Ryan Jack. The Scotland manager admits he should have communicated his pre-match planning better after the Rangers boss accused him of overworking his star midfielder.
Clarke insists he doesn’t flog players in training and has called on issues over workloads to be kept private in future.
He spoke as he handed Dundee United frontman Lawrence Shankland a shock call-up for the squad to face Russia and San
Marino in next week’s Euro 2020 qualifiers.
But Kieran Tierney was left out of the squad at the request of Arsenal as he rebuilds his fitness after a long-term hip injury.
Gerrard was angry after Jack, who is nursing a knee complaint, returned early from last month’s double-header after aggravating his injury.
The Ibrox boss was upset that his player, also named in this squad, completed a training session that involved running 11km just 48 hours after a demanding Old Firm game.
Clarke said: “It’s probably a lesson for me. We have to communicate better. None of the players were forced to do the extra training session – or the other training session everyone adds on at the end.
“It’s an organisational set play afternoon that adds on a few numbers and can make them look quite dramatic but they are not dramatic because there’s no real load in the afternoon. It’s 11km spread over seven hours in the day.
“It was certainly not a session where we put a lot of load into the players’ legs. Listen, I am a very experienced football coach and manager. We certainly could not be accused of flogging players to death. Obviously it would’ve been better had Ryan not done the session.”
Clarke, asked whose responsibility it was to flag up issues, said: “It is probably a little bit of all parties concerned doing a little bit more to make sure the issue does not come up.
“I understand Steven was upset because a key player like Ryan went away for an international and then missed a key match for Rangers. Would it have been better in private? Yes, it would have been better in private but there you go.
“It is definitely part of the learning process for me.”
There was no place for Southampton’s Stuart Armstrong but Sheffield United’s John Fleck has won a recall.
Tierney is close to full fitness with the Gunners but they urged caution as the former Celtic full-back has only played 77 minutes this season.
Clarke said: “Arsenal contacted us and intimated it would be too soon for him.”
And he believes the time is not yet right for Chelsea’s former Rangers kid Billy Gilmour. Clarke said: “He’s a terrific talent but he needs time to develop.”