Gaffer was forced to rip it up and start again

STEVE CLARKE unveiled his starting 11 for the big showdown with Israel behind closed doors at Scotland’s training base on Tuesday afternoon.

By yesterday afternoon he was ripping it up and starting again – while offering at least two of his players the chance to come in from the cold and become national heroes.

The manager said: “The good thing, with the way we work here, is that even though I shape up one team in the way I want to go – and have the other players shaped up the way the opposition will be – I’m always very mindful of the fact that the other players could be involved.

“I tell them to pay careful attention to any information they get. We try to spread the word right throughout the squad, rather than just the starting 11.

“So when I make the changes, hopefully the ones who come into the team will slot in seamlessly.

“Like I say, what a fantastic chance it’s going to be for players to make a name for themselves.”

The late loss of Kieran Tierney could force Clarke’s hand into reverting to a f lat back four, after experimenting with a 3-5-2 formation in order to make room for the Arsenal man in his line-up.

But he is giving little way and Clarke said: “It could be a matter of staying with that formation, it could be a matter of changing it.

“We have another training session after this and I’m going to have a look at two different things and then decide on the best way to go forward.

“Yes, the squad is much reduced going into it. But that’s why I named a big squad in the first place and we have more than enough talent and players to get ourselves the positive result that we want.”