Bright lights of Lyndon
Dykes was one of shining stars in Scotland display but Clarke has pleaded with Tartan Army not to pile too much pressure on big striker
Steve Clarke has urged Scotland fans not to pile pressure on new boy Lyndon Dykes after an eye-catching debut.
The Australian-born striker won his first cap at Hampden on Friday night and impressed in the 1-1 draw with Israel.
Dykes, who’s just joined QPR from Livingston for £2million, looked comfortable in the role as lone front-man.
The 24-year-old held the ball up well and linked up with team-mates, without having any clear-cut chances in front of goal.
Clarke believes Dykes could solve a problem with Scotland’s lack of striking options but he hopes the Tartan Army does not heap too much expectation on the big man’s shoulders after one good performance.
Ahead of the trip to the Czech Republ ic for tomorrow’s Nations League tie, Scotland boss Clarke said: “It’s important to keep our feet on the ground with Lyndon.
“We have to be level-headed and not put too much pressure on him.
“When you come into the camp as the new guy, the lads look at you straight away.
“But his touch, technique, manner about the place, the way he worked in training, everything felt really good and I felt he took that into the game.
“Obviously, it’s a big step up for him, but I was really pleased with him and he can be pleased with his performance.
“Lyndon’s a confident lad and knows what he wants.
“He’s not a big- head, he’s nothing like that. He’s done the hard yards in football, from Queen of the South to Livingston and earned himself a fantastic move to London.
“It’ll be nice to watch him in the Championship next season.
“He’s going to be working with a really good coach in Mark Warburton so Lyndon can only improve now for his club and hopefully his country.”
It may have been Dykes’ international bow but starting him wasn’t Clarke’s toughest decision on Friday night.
Clarke revealed deploying Manchester United kid Scott McTominay as a centre-back in a new 3- 4-1-2 system was his most di f f icult cal l on team selection.
He lined up beside Aberdeen’s Scott McKenna and Arsenal’s Kieran Tierney in a new look back l ine, which looked comfortable until Eran Zahavi’s stunning equaliser.
Clarke has vowed to make changes to his line up against the Czechs in Olomouc.
But he’s adamant Tierney and McTominay are well equipped to play in those positions, should he stick with them tomorrow night.
He said: “I thought Scott did really well. He’s a big strong boy with good height in there. He made one mistake when he got caught under the ball in the first half that allowed Moanes Dabour in at the back post for a header.
“David Marshall made a fantastic save which was crucial because we then went up the park and took the lead.
“But Scott was comfortable in that position.
“I actually had it in my mind to play someone else there at the start of the week but then I watched Scott in training. He played deep into August with Manchester Uni ted but camee to us off the back of a few daysays rest.
“So he hadn’t done much training.ing. I needed to see him to make sure he was up to speed.
“What he showed me pushedhed me towards p l ay iingng himhim againstnst Israel and I thought ght it was a very good performance.
“I was pleased with the whole back three, they worked well together and, more or less, kept a very dangerous front two quiet.
“Obviously, Dabour and Zahavi had the combination thathat led to their goal and that’s something wew wi l l work on to be bbetter at in the future.
“K i e r a n lookedl comfortable as well, he knows the role and how to plaplay that pposition anyway. I didn’t have any worries about him.
“I’ve kept a close eye on him at Arsenal and it’s just nice to have him back available again.”
Clarke has no major injury concerns ahead of the game against what will be an understrength Czech side because of Covid concerns, but he wants to freshen things up.
He said: “I would very much doubt that I’ll go with the same team as Friday.
“I have got to be fair to the players and not be sil ly by pushing them too hard at this stage of the season.
“I’ll be sensible and make some changes.”
With Lyndon we’ve got to keep feet on the ground and not put too much pressure on him now