Clarke: Naismith given the all-clear
STEVE Clarke is ready to throw Steven Naismith into his second international match in four days – having been given assurances from Hearts interim manager Austin MacPhee that he was free to manage him as he sees fit.
The 33-year-old from Saltcoats, just two matches into a recovery from a hamstring problem, suffered a heavy fall at the GSP stadium in Cyprus just moments before he was withdrawn from the action before the hour mark, but has been given a clean bill of health and is ready to lead the line again tonight against the Kazakhs.
With Lawrence Shankland being sent back to Dundee United and replaced by Kilmarnock’s Eamonn Brophy after failing to shrug off a minor injury, Naismith is the obvious choice up front in a match Scotland need to win to be sure of third place in Group I.
“Steven Naismith is fine,” said Clarke. “He didn’t have an injury on Saturday. The substitution for Steven was always planned between 60 and 65 minutes. The fact he fell over just before he came off was unfortunate! He’s 100-per-cent fine.
“Obviously I want to respect all the clubs and I wouldn’t put a player at risk in terms of injury,” added the Scotland manager. “But, fitness-wise, Steven is fine. I had a chat with Austin MacPhee before the international break and he’s quite happy for me to manage the player as I see fit. If
I felt Steven wasn’t fully fit, I wouldn’t risk him.
“If I choose to start him, he is desperate to play. When you look at his experience, his 50 caps speak for themselves. It’s 50 caps with a couple of long injury breaks in there as well, so it tells you how important he has been to previous managers.
“He is important to me. He’s positive in the dressing room. He’s a clever player, a cute player and he can score a goal as well.
“So he is an important player for us going forward. He’s got a little bit of nous and experience and he uses it well.
“Everyone else is fine. Lawrence picked up a niggle and we chose not to risk him on Saturday in the hope he would make it. But he won’t.”
Stewart Fisher