Clarke’s got to find best XI... and fast

AS soon as the job became available, Steve Clarke always looked like the outstanding candidate for the Scotland gig. But that doesn’t entitle him to a free pass or make him immune to criticism.

Clarke has now been in charge of the national team for well over a year. Yet, almost 16 months down the line, it’s glaringly obvious that he still doesn’t know his best team.

We’re no further forward in that regard than we were when he took charge of his first game, a nervy 2-1 win over Cyprus at Hampden in June 2019.

In fairness to Clarke, it’s not all his fault. There are some things no coaching manual can legislate for — like a global pandemic shutting the game down or umpteen players pulling out of the squad.

But there were aspects of the game against Israel last Friday night which I found deeply concerning. Barring a decent debut for Lyndon Dykes, Scotland were tough to watch. And tough’s probably being kind.

A lot of the pre-match build-up centred on Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney. Namely, how Clarke would utilise them, given that he had them both available for the first time during his tenure.

In reality, however, that should actually be the least of Clarke’s concerns. They are our two best players, so it’s an absolute no-brainer that you have to get them both into the team.

The best way to achieve that, I believe, is to deploy a back three. Tierney plays as the left-sided centre-back, a position in which he now excels at club level for Arsenal, with Robertson raiding forward from left wing-back.

That’s what Clarke did on Friday night and the balance of the team on the left side of the pitch actually looked OK. It’s what’s happening in the other departments which worries me.

On the opposite flank, for instance, who is going to nail down the rightback spot? Nobody has been able to make it their own since Alan Hutton called it a day four years ago.

Clarke’s team selection is all over the shop at times. When I looked through the team-sheet against Israel, the starting XI might as well have been plucked from a tombola.

Scott McTominay, a holding midfielder by trade at Manchester United, thrown into the defence. Can anyone explain that one?

Meanwhile, you’ve got Liam Cooper — a centre-half who has just captained Leeds United into the English Premier League — sat on the bench.

The make-up of the midfield just looked wrong. There was no incision or tempo being set in the middle of the park.

We were crying out for the likes of a young Billy Gilmour to demand the ball and make things happen.

I would love to see John Fleck given more of a chance. He was outstanding for Sheffield United last season — excelling as a midfielder in a 3-5-2. He knows that system inside-out.

There are just too many square pegs in round holes at the moment. We’ve got the Euro 2020 play-off against the Israelis next month, but we’re still none the wiser how the team will line up.

Robertson and Tierney should be automatic picks if they are fit. You then build the rest of the team around them and play people in their correct positions.

Given the chaos that has surrounded tonight’s game against the Czech Republic, I can’t help but fear it’s a huge banana skin for Clarke and his players.

Against a team of Czech journeymen they’re on a hiding to nothing. They’ll go into the game as odds-on favourites to win — and to win comfortably.

Clarke’s natural inclination to play it cagey and hit teams on the break simply won’t cut it against a team that has basically been put together on the back of a fag packet.

Scotland need to go out and prove that they can play on the front foot. Winning by two or three goals should be the minimum requirement to build some confidence ahead of next month’s play-off.

Israel proved on Friday night that they are no mugs. They knocked the ball around confidently at times and their front three looked really lively and dangerous.

It’s about building momentum and confidence for Scotland and allowing the team to find some fluency and rhythm.

The constant chopping and changing from Clarke needs to stop. We’re now only a matter of weeks away from the nation’s biggest game since Italy at Hampden in 2007.

If the unthinkable was to happen tonight, though, Clarke’s bid to guide us into a first major finals in over 20 years might well be a case of Czech mate.