ON THIS DAY
2012: Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch during the first half of the FA Cup quarterfinal at Tottenham. He recovered but retired from football.
NO PLACE for David Turnbull. Nothing either for the rising star at Rangers Nathan Patterson.
This was far from the shake-up which many had been expecting when Steve Clarke named his latest 27-man Scotland squad.
Jack Hendry comes in from so far out in the cold that even Celtic fans might struggle to recognise him.
Second-choice Ibrox keeper Jon McLaughlin comes in too despite hardly making a save since the start of the season.
Kevin Nisbet has leapfrogged Lawrence Shankland and knocked him out of the strikers pool. And of course, Che Adams has joined Big Lyndon by jumping the Dykes.
But Old Firm foes Turnbull and Patterson still have work to do – and not much time in which to do it – if they’re to make a late run into Clarke’s plans for this summer’s shot at glory.
Clarke said: “People like David Turnbull, Nathan Patterson, Billy Gilmour, Ryan Gauld are all young players with good prospects.
“But the likes of Turnbull has to break into the team in front of McTominay, McGinn, Stuart Armstrong, Ryan Christie, Ryan Fraser – it’s an area of the team we are very, very strong in. And we also have to be very careful not to lose the dynamic of the squad.
“I can’t understand the clamour to throw some players out who have been part of a historic national team that’s qualified for a major tournament.
“The time will come for these other players but, at the moment, it’s about getting the balance right so that we move forward in an organised manner.”
Patterson’s hopes of a late promotion appear to rest on some serious misfortune befalling either first-choice right-back Stephen O’Donnell or back-up Liam Palmer.
Clarke said: “You never know what’s going to happen. That’s one thing I’ve learned in this job, you can’t look too far ahead, especially with things like Covid and all the restrictions that might fall on us.
“But what I would say is, people are quick to knock Stephen O’Donnell but he’s been fantastic for the national team.
“If you took away the name of the player and the club that he plays for, people would be saying, ‘What a really good player!’
“He’s never let me down, he’s never let the team down or let the country down. And Liam is similar.
“You always have to have an eye on the future and Nathan Patterson’s broken into the Rangers team because of an injury to James Tavernier.
“He’s done well but has played less than 10 first team games so let’s give him a little time to find his feet and keep developing.”