Clarke content to do deal with Celtic on Taylor
LEFT-BACK OMITTED FROM SCOTS SQUAD
AS MANAGER of Scotland, Steve Clarke has learned when to give as well as take. Borrowing multi-million pound assets only works with the goodwill and cooperation of clubs. There’s no secret to where the power lies.
To that end, as Celtic manage the stress and strain being placed on Greg Taylor’s body heading into the business end of the season, the left-back has been omitted from the Scotland squad for next week’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Cyprus and Spain.
At 25, Taylor is enjoying the best season of his career. In any other position, the absence of a player Clarke knows and trusts would be considered a genuine setback. Yet, with Andrew Robertson, Kieran Tierney and Aaron Hickey at his disposal, left-back is the one area where the Scotland boss can leave out a Champions League starter and lose no sleep.
‘I have had a chat with Greg,’ Clarke revealed, choosing his words carefully. ‘It is really a Celtic issue, more than for me to comment on. He is carrying a little injury.
‘He will probably benefit from a rest rather than coming away with the national team. Celtic should elaborate on that a little bit if you want to push that one.
‘We are not too bad at left-back. Tierney and Robertson do okay.
‘We are well covered in all the positions. Young Josh Doig is in the Under-21s if we want to go deeper into that position.
‘Aaron Hickey can play left or right. Aaron is back playing in the Brentford team.’
Used as a highly effective rightback in recent internationals, the former Hearts defender looks likely to carry on in the same vein. In a recurring theme for the 23-man squad named yesterday, Everton defender Nathan Patterson is fit again but hasn’t seen first-team action since January 3.
‘Nathan has been fit for a number of weeks, three weeks I think,’ said Clarke. ‘He has had some minutes with the Under-21s, but he hasn’t managed to convince his new gaffer (Sean Dyche) that he should be playing in the team yet. But I am sure that will come.’ Run through the pool of players picked by Clarke and Patterson is hardly an isolated case.
Tierney is playing second fiddle to Oleksandr Zinchenko at Arsenal. Scott McTominay has been displaced by Casemiro and Wout Weghorst at Manchester United. Billy Gilmour has managed 11 appearances for Brighton all season and last featured on February 4. Liam Cooper’s last appearance for Leeds United was a day later.
Lyndon Dykes, meanwhile, is just back in the QPR team after a nasty brush with pneumonia. ‘There was a spell early on when he picked up his illness when we didn’t think Lyndon would be back this season,’ Clarke admitted. ‘But he is a tough guy.
‘It wasn’t pleasant for him and his family. He is in a much better place now, which is great for everybody. I went to the game at the weekend just to see him on the pitch. He was good.
‘He got almost an hour, but it was a good hour. I wasn’t looking at him thinking he was out of condition. He was in good shape.
‘He should get more minutes tonight and at the weekend. It is a bonus to have Lyndon fit and available.’
When it comes to a lack of time on the pitch for the likes of Tierney, McTominay and Gilmour, Clarke is sanguine.
‘I think sometimes you can look a bit too much into the minutes,’ he said. ‘We have all had six months to sit and watch and say this one isn’t playing and that one isn’t playing.
‘When you look at the average minutes over the course of the season, with one or two exceptions, they are all getting enough football.
‘The thing is, if they are not playing, they can’t get injured, which helps as well.’
There is one for whom lack of game time is never a problem. Sitting on 49 Scotland caps, Celtic skipper Callum McGregor will reach a significant landmark against Cyprus. While club-mate Taylor struggles with the relentless physical demands of games week in and week out, McGregor seems to be driven by robotic technology.
‘Low maintenance, high quality,’ said Clarke of the 29-year-old. ‘A manager’s dream.
‘He is a credit to himself and to his club. And he is a credit to his country. Every time you pick him, he is there. He plays almost every minute of every game for Celtic.
‘He plays almost every minute of every game for us. He was always captain material, Callum.
‘He was always very assured. He doesn’t speak all the time, but when he speaks, everybody listens. Which is a really good trait to have.’
A late developer in international terms, McGregor was handed his debut by interim boss Malky Mackay in a Pittodrie defeat to the Netherlands in 2017.
‘It wasn’t that long ago that he got his first cap and now he is approaching 50,’ said Clarke.
‘If you look at the numbers beside the boys, the number of caps is going up all the time.
‘Very early on, I spoke about getting all the boys in the core of the squad picking up caps year in, year out.
‘Suddenly, we are starting to look like a team that has got good international experience. Hopefully, we can put it to good use in the coming campaign.’