Could this pair of enigmas be the answer to Clarke’s striking puzzle?

ONE hasn’t been included at all under Steve Clarke. The other’s first — and most noteworthy — dealings with the Scotland manager involved standing up in front of the squad and saying sorry for branding the national set-up a load of old cobblers he would rather avoid being part of.

Fourteen months into Clarke’s difficult, disrupted reign, it might seem odd that a couple of players with whom he has such an underwhelming history should suddenly be regarded as flickering sources of hope amid the gloom.

Yet, that is what Oli McBurnie and Leigh Griffiths undoubtedly are.

Had Scotland’s proposed Euro 2020 play-off with Israel gone ahead as intended in March, it is doubtful either of them would have been on the pitch.

Yet, as we welcome the tentative return of normality and the national side trying again to edge closer to a first major championship since Julius Caesar pulled the strings in midfield for Italy, they have both put themselves forward as potential solutions to one of Clarke’s thorniest problems.

Indeed, given the lack of natural firepower around the team and some of the personnel issues likely to require attention ahead of that visit of the Israelis in October, there is even a case to be made for McBurnie and Griffiths being given a crack at becoming an all-new front two.

Having flirted with McBurnie, Oli Burke, Eamonn Brophy, Matt Phillips and Lawrence Shankland, Clarke finished the Euro 2020 qualifying group with Steven Naismith as his main striker.

It was understandable. He was the safest, most experienced option.

Yet, as things stand, Naismith is heading for the Scottish Championship with Hearts. He will turn 34 just after the next round of Nations League games — starting with another visit from Israel — in September.

If Griffiths is still playing for Celtic and McBurnie is preparing for another season as a regular starter in the English Premier League, it is hard to see him as an option.

Griffiths, now 29, is never going to iron out all his little wrinkles. Even his Celtic manager, Neil Lennon, describes him as ‘an enigma’, which, no matter how favourable a light you view it in, is no compliment.

However, he is easily the country’s most natural centre-forward.

Having missed most of last term through personal issues, he returned to his club side beside Odsonne Edouard after the winter break as Lennon moved to a 3-5-2 system and scored eight goals in 13 outings.

McBurnie plays in a 3-5-2 for Sheffield United, too. He has also started 10 of their last 11 EPL fixtures following his £17million move from Swansea last summer — with his performance against Spurs on Thursday, according to manager Chris Wilder, the best yet.

McBurnie worked admirably, scored the third goal in a 3-1 win and was involved in both of the others.

He used his physique cleverly to block Ben Davies and afford Sander Berge extra space to score the opener and it was his link-up play followed by a great ball to Enda Stevens that instigated United’s second.

McBurnie is a bit of an enigma, too. He has all the poise and elegance of a giraffe on a water slide. Five goals this term is hardly prolific.

Yet, that victory over Tottenham showed there is definitely something there. A haul of 24 goals for Swansea in 2018-19 told you that, too.

After apologising for making disparaging remarks about Scotland on camera by the Sheffield United media team — comments which did appear entirely throwaway — the Leeds-born 24-year-old started in the 2-1 loss to Russia at Hampden last September.

He copped unfair criticism considering he was given no service whatsoever during a pitiful team display.

Since then, he’s managed just one substitute appearance, but he looks a more rounded player nowadays. As you would expect after a campaign at the top level.

His form in the coming weeks will surely be of keen interest to Clarke. Likewise, the fortunes of Griffiths, likely to face increased competition from Patryk Klimala when the Scottish Premiership returns, will be central to his plans.

Sure, it will be interesting to see how Shankland fares for Dundee United in the Premiership, too. The £1.8m transfer of Fraser Hornby from Everton to Reims, sixth in France’s Ligue 1 pre-lockdown, is another intriguing development.

Right now, though, McBurnie and Griffiths are our best chances of finding a meaningful solution up front. Both possess the work ethic a limited side requires and both seem happy playing with a strike partner.

Scotland hasn’t tried a 3-5-2 since Alex McLeish lost in Israel in 2018, but that’s not to say it couldn’t be revisited — particularly when there is pressure to squeeze two leftsided defenders in Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney, who can play more centrally, into the side.

McBurnie and Griffiths have given themselves solid platforms to build from, but they need to keep playing and progressing. The chance to become the hero an entire country is holding out for is there in front of them.

It’s early days. A lot still needs to happen.

But right now, the thought of letting both of them loose at Hampden, first-team regulars and confidence high, feels more uplifting than anything that has happened with the national team for a long, long time.