Who will get the nod by Clarke is theNo.1question

CRAIG GORDON may have signed himself into extra time in cold storage.

Jon McLaughlin may well have penned himself on to a subs’ bench at Ibrox.

David Marshall has been left in turmoil with Wigan crashing into administration amid potential interest from Celtic, while Scott Bain is currently the one holding the baby at Parkhead.

There can’t be a more interested spectator in this summer game of musical goalies than Scotland manager Steve Clarke.

And, with his opening fixtures coming up against Israel and Czech Republic in just a couple of months’ time, the national coach may have to wait a while to discover who is left standing for September when the music stops.

Gordon’s decision to reject a deal at Celtic and move to Hearts was, of course, not just down to playing for Scotland.

The size of the contract extension put in front of him at Parkhead would have had a bearing but having sat behind Fraser Forster in the queue last term, the 37-year-old, understandably, wants to play football with his days in the game coming to an end.

A two-year contract and the promise of action at Tynecastle made his decision easy and Gordon cited the opportunity to get back into Clarke’s eyeline as another key factor.

Yet the controversy over Hearts’ relegation and the Covid-19 effect on the Championship season means that he’s not likely to play any competitive games until a month after that first double header.

McLaughlin is also in an interesting position.

The 32-year-old is a good signing for Rangers with his peak years ahead of him after an impressive time at Sunderland.

However, while McLaughlin’s time will come with Allan McGregor advancing in years, it’s unlikely to be immediately.

McGregor is a stalwart of Rangers, ironically having already quit the national team.

McLaughlin like Gordon spoke of Scotland being a factor in his choice to join Rangers yet he’s not going to be much use to Clarke sitting on a bench.

Marshall has been Clarke’s No.1 recently and a run of seven straight clean sheets at Wigan pre and post lockdown suggests he’s not losing ability as he gets older.

But who knows what

Summer game of musical goalies will be of interest to Scots boss

effect the club’s plunge into administration will have on his situation?

Obviously, an ideal result for Clarke would be for Marshall to end up back at Celtic, with Forster staying at Southampton, for him to start the season on fire and be in position to go for Israel and the Czechs. But that’s no gimme.

Meanwhile, as all of the keeper chat is going on at Parkhead, Bain is working away knowing that he’s in the No.1 slot for the champions just now.

He had reached the national team after being top choice for a spell at Celtic but that all got away from him last term.

It’s going to be fascinating to see how all of this shakes down in the coming weeks.