Right-back worry as Scotland line up
Patterson and Hickey leave Clarke with poser ahead of Euros selection
IT would be stretching things to suggest that Scotland will be a goal down before a ball is kicked in their opening Euro 2024 match against hosts Germany in the Allianz Arena in Munich next month due to the players who have been ruled out by injuries.
The loss of both Aaron Hickey of Brentford and Nathan Patterson of Everton, however, is certainly a devastating blow to the national team’s prospects of making it out of Group A and reaching the knockout rounds of a major tournament for the first time.
Hickey and Patterson have excelled at right wing-back in recent seasons and the former was superb for his country in the specialist position against Spain, Cyprus, Norway and Georgia during qualifying.
It is, regardless of who Scotland manager Steve Clarke today names in his 28-man squad for the Euro 2024 warm-up friendlies against Gibraltar and Finland, difficult to see who can come in an make the same sort of impact.
Anthony Ralston of Celtic has done well in a dark blue jersey. But he has hardly featured in the first team at Parkhead this term. Max Johnston, meanwhile, has won a league and cup double in his debut season with Sturm Graz. The former Motherwell kid, though, is uncapped and has not been a regular starter in Austria.
Ross McCrorie, the former Rangers and Aberdeen man who has been a part of the senior set-up before and who has been deployed at right wingback in a 3-4-1-2 formation at Bristol City this year, is another possibility. But he, too, has no experience at full international level.
Deciding who to play at right wingback will be one of Clarke’s main concerns when his charges meet up to begin their preparations for Germany next week. Could he opt to abandon his three-man defence altogether and revert to a back four? Desperate times require desperate measures.
Yet, there is, as Scotland assistant manager John Carver stressed this week as he helped digital bank Chase
to launch their nationwide coaching programme in Manchester, more optimism than pessimism among the coaching staff as the finals draw nearer.
“It is an exciting time,” he said. “I am sure the players cannot wait for the squad to be announced. I mean, once it is announced, how proud will they be? Can they create history? This is an opportunity for them.
“It is going to be extremely tough. We know what the group is like and how good the teams are [Scotland also have to play Switzerland and Hungary]. But we have to be really encouraged by what we have done in the qualifiers and hopefully that puts us in good stead.”
The return to form of Celtic duo Callum McGregor, who had a spell on the sidelines in March and April with an Achilles injury, and James Forrest, who has been one of the best players in the country in recent weeks, has pleased Carver no end.
“It’s great news that Callum is back,” he said. “He is a leader, we know what he is like. As it happens, I saw him at the weekend and he looked back to his best.
“We have to thank Celtic for the way they have handled him. They have brought him in, given him game time, but not thrown him in at the deep end. They have been pretty cautious with him. Having him back playing well has got to be a bonus.
“James has had a great finish to the season. He scored in the semifinal of the cup and last week as well. He’s done a great job. But there are others out there who have had a good run as well.”
McGregor suggested after Celtic had beaten Kilmarnock at Rugby Park to win the Premiership last week that Forrest could perhaps be the answer to Scotland’s problem at right wing-back. The evergreen winger has played there before for his club.
Could there be a solution further afield? Carver revealed that dozens of players in this country, England, Europe and the United States have been getting monitored closely by SFA staff in recent months.
Could Lewis Morgan of New York Red Bulls, then, be in line for a shock recall?
The former St Mirren and Celtic forward made his international debut at right wing-back in a friendly against Peru in Lima in 2018 and has played there extensively since moving to the MLS in 2020.
But Carver continued: “I don’t think there is going to be any surprises. I would be very surprised if there is a surprise. But we have got a group of about 40 players that we have been looking at.
“All the staff, but particularly Steve
and myself, have been out watching games, keeping our fingers crossed, hoping that players come through without any injuries. So we know the players, we have got all the data on every single player.
“Graeme Jones and his staff are in constant contact with all the different clubs to make sure that we have all the information that we need. But, again, you can have the information, but your eyes are good testers and that is why we want them on the grass and want the group of 28.”
Clarke will have to submit a 26-man squad to Euro 2024 organisers UEFA before 11pm on Friday, June 7, so two of those who he selects for the Gibraltar and Finland matches will be left devastated. Still,
Carver feels his colleague has to assess the fitness of those, the likes of Stuart Armstrong, Liam Cooper and Grant Hanley, who have been sidelined with injuries in recent weeks with his own eyes.
“It gives us an opportunity to see the guys,” he said. “Grant Hanley is an example. He has been fit for a number of weeks now, but he hasn’t had a great deal of playing time.
“So it is an ideal opportunity for us to sit with them and have a good chat with them, but also see them on the training ground every single day. Plus, we have got two games before we have to name that final squad. I think it is the fairest way to do it.
“Obviously, when we get to the end of it there are going to be a couple of guys who are disappointed, but at least Steve then can speak face to face with the guys who are not going to be in.
“We have always talked about how fair he is and how honest he is and I think it’s the fairest way to deal with the guys who have done a fantastic and unbelievable job to get us to the Euros, the second Euros in a row.”
John Carver was speaking as digital bank Chase launched a new football programme with the SFA and the other three Home Nations, that will provide fully funded access to 2,900 introductory coaching qualifications and 85 professional coaching bursaries to support individuals from low-income backgrounds.
The new funding has been announced after YouGov research revealed that the cost of qualifications is the main barrier to coaching for under resourced communities in Scotland, with 41 per cent saying that financial support would make them more likely to continue through the coaching pathway.
For more information on the programme, visit: https://www.chase.co.uk/gb/en/