Gough fears call-offs may wreck hopes of 2020 place

RICHARD GOUGH is concerned that the alarming number of call-offs which seem to constantly haunt the Scotland squad will wreck Steve Clarke’s hopes of leading the nation to Euro 2020.

Four key Premier League stars have already pulled out of the doubleheader with Cyprus and Kazakhstan as the head coach tries to build some kind of momentum for the Nations League play-offs next March. Captain Andy Robertson, Manchester United’s Scott McTominay and Ryan Fraser from Bournemouth have all withdrawn through injury alongside Kieran Tierney, who has been left out at Arsenal’s request.

It has been a recurring theme of late, with 27 withdrawals from the squad in the past year alone. On top of that, Allan McGregor, James McArthur, Scott Brown, Robert Snodgrass and Matt Ritchie have all called time on their Scotland careers, while Steven Fletcher has made himself unavailable. Former Scotland captain Gough says it’s a worrying sign of the times that there appears to be a lack of commitment to the national cause.

‘I don’t like seeing so many call-offs,’ said the 57-year-old. ‘It doesn’t help Stevie Clarke, that’s for sure. How is he supposed to get a rhythm going?

‘In the case of Andy Robertson, you can imagine Jurgen Klopp looking at it and saying that Scotland can’t qualify through the group, so why should one of his most important players be risked?

‘I’m sure Robertson will be playing for Liverpool in two weeks’ time.

‘Listen, it’s been going on for years. At Rangers, Graeme Souness didn’t like us going to play in friendlies. I’m not sure any manager liked that.

‘The money involved now means that club football is king. Players don’t want to miss six months by getting injured playing for their country and their managers feel the same.

‘But I’ve still been alarmed by the number of call-offs since Stevie took over and I think it has to be addressed.’

Saturday’s trip to Cyprus naturally brings back memories of his own eventful journey there with the national team in February 1989.

He scored two goals in that match, the second a sensational winner which came a full five and a half minutes into stoppage time and played a key role in taking Scotland to the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

The Scots had been 2-1 down when Gough levelled, before East German referee Siegfried Kirschen famously added on nearly seven minutes.

‘The Cypriots tried to play for the draw and they were wasting time at every opportunity,’ recalled Gough.

‘So that’s where the referee got the added time from — although none of us knew how long he was going to play.

‘It was big Roy Aitken who played in the free-kick and I think it was one of the best headers of my career.’

Gough played at right-back against the Cypriots as the Scots had so many terrific options in defence in the 1980s and 90s that he often found himself pushed out of the centre.

How he wishes the national team had the same embarrassment of riches today, with the Scots having been especially weak in central defence in recent campaigns.

‘We used to have an abundance of top-class central defenders,’ said the ex-Dundee United, Tottenham, Rangers and Everton star.

‘We were blessed with a number of very good centre-backs. We had Alex McLeish and Willie Miller at Aberdeen, Paul Hegarty and Dave Narey at Dundee United and there was Alan Hansen and Gary Gillespie at Liverpool, too.

‘I had to play right-back so I could get a game, even although I was playing centre-back for Rangers.’

This weekend’s affair in Cyprus doesn’t carry the same weight as the game in Gough’s heyday, with Scotland having already missed out on automatic qualification for Euro 2020 through the group.

But Gough, who quit the national team in 1993 after a fall-out with Andy Roxburgh, insists it’s still a vital game as Clarke builds towards the Nations League play-offs. ‘Obviously this game doesn’t come anywhere near the stature or the importance of the game we played in 1989, but it’s still a big game,’ said the 61-times capped Ibrox legend.

‘Hopefully the boys can get a couple of wins under their belts — this one and next week’s game with Kazakhstan — to build some momentum. ‘It’s all about getting ready for the Nations League semi — and hopefully a final — in

March.’