No quick fix to Scotland's keeper conundrum, admits boss Steve Clarke
Scotland head coach Steve Clarke admits solving their goalkeeper issues will be a long-term project as he looks for a stop-gap solution ahead of Monday's friendly against Liechtenstein.
With regular starter Craig Gordon injured, along with the recently-capped Zander Clark and Liam Kelly, Clarke was relieved to be able to call on the fit-again Angus Gunn for his June squad.
But 22-year-old Cieran Slicker was thrust into an unexpected debut against Iceland on Friday night after Gunn was hit with an ankle injury in the opening stages, Kilmarnock's Robby McCrorie having suffered a thigh problem in the warm-up.
The Ipswich keeper had only played six first-team matches and struggled with the occasion. He conceded almost immediately, after losing possession himself, and his kicking got worse before it got better.
Slicker conceded two more soft goals after John Souttar's equaliser and it made for painful viewing to see the inexperienced keeper struggle to deal with what should have been a memorable experience turning into a personal nightmare.
Clarke had brought 18-year-old Callan McKenna into the training squad in midweek with an eye on the future after expressing concern in recent months that the long-term future of the goalkeeping department had been neglected somewhat.
McKenna moved from Queen's Park to Bournemouth in February 2024 after playing nine first-team games for the Spiders.
The position has been one of Scotland's strengths for many years, with Gordon and the now retired David Marshall and Allan McGregor all vying for the gloves.
Gordon, now 42, is one of the few Scottish first-choice keepers in the William Hill Premiership and he and Clark have swapped that status in recent seasons with Hearts.
Clarke signalled he would seek to find available keepers who were not on holiday before Scotland leave for Vaduz on Sunday.
His choices in Scotland's top flight are limited to players that do not regularly play. Ross Doohan has been Aberdeen's second-choice keeper this season, although he played 18 times because of injuries to Bulgaria international Dimitar Mitov.
Doohan has been tipped to move to Celtic to replace Scott Bain as third choice following the former Dundee keeper's move to Falkirk. The 33-year-old did not play this season but does have three caps.
Dundee's Jon McCracken and Ross County's Ross Laidlaw are also potential options, but both have been on the bench in recent months.
Clarke said: 'It's a circumstance that I pointed out in March. I could see something like this possibly coming.
'The good thing, or the only crumb of comfort to take from it, is it happened in a friendly match.
'We'll be better covered when it comes to the autumn.
'It's pretty unusual to have five first choice all struggling with injury, all out. Not everybody plays regularly at their club.
'It's something that we have to address and something we have to look at. It's not going to change in a click of a finger. It's not going to change quickly.
'It's more for the long term and probably for the next head coach and the next head coach after that.'
Amid the goalkeeping drama, Scotland delivered another poor performance to leave them with just one win in their last nine home matches, the previous one a 3-0 defeat by Greece in the Nations League play-offs.
'Obviously, the last two results have been really disappointing here at Hampden,' said Clarke, who could lose Scott McTominay to a knee injury for Monday's game. 'We've got a lot of work to do.'
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Scotland's Cieran Slicker at full time after the 3-1 defeat to Iceland. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) | SNS Group Social media has been awash with calls for the manager to be relieved of his duties over the past 48 hours. AI-generated pictures of Ange Postecoglou in a Scotland tie and blazer have also been circulated. The notion of Clarke being replaced by the ex-Tottenham and Celtic boss is a fanciful one. The Scottish FA, rightly or wrongly, will not be minded to deny Clarke the opportunity to see out the final year of his contract in spite of the wavering faith of the Tartan Army. But it is equally unlikely that Clarke will fulfil his dream of leading the nation to next year's tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico without a marked improvement in performances. Problems all over the pitch Solving the goalkeeper issue is an obvious priority. But providing Craig Gordon, Angus Gunn and Liam Kelly are fit again by September, then this will likely be resolved on its own, at least in the short term. It felt more like bad luck than bad judgement that Slicker ended up making his international debut having barely made a handful of senior appearances for Ipswich. The former Scotland Under-21 was in the squad to gain experience, rather than minutes on the park. A lesson for Clarke perhaps that he cannot afford to call up players who are not ready and able to play. One can only hope Slicker's career trajectory has not been fatally damaged by this unfortunate episode. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Where Clarke's problems run deeper is in his tactics, team selection and motivating his players. The return to a back five in a home friendly against Iceland felt like a major step back from the progress that had been made across the Nations League campaign where Scotland were a much more progressive and balanced outfit with a back four. The lacklustre and half-hearted efforts of the players at Hampden on Friday suggested they too were not particularly enamoured with being asked to reprise a system that was binned after being so badly exposed at Euro 2024. The infuriating sideways and backwards passing was a throwback to last summer's tournament where Scotland's stunted attack barely registered a shot on goal. This is football with the handbrake on. The persistence with Grant Hanley also continues to cause bemusement and frustration given the 33-year-old's lack of club action. Loyalty is an admirable trait that has served Clarke well, but it can also be a major flaw when younger, match-fit alternatives are consistently overlooked, particularly in a friendly, where Hanley, understandably, appeared laboured. Scott McKenna, after a season in La Liga competing against the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal, must be wondering what he has done wrong. The apparent obsession over accommodating both Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney in the starting line-up cannot be the sole determining factor when it comes to team set up. It would, though, take a brave call to decide which of the two is first choice left-back and leave the other one out, or as has been suggested, push one into left midfield. Scotland's George Hirst (centre) looks dejected after heading over the bar during the defeat to Iceland. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group) | SNS Group Midfield strength must be harnessed Clarke also needs to solve the midfield dilemma over how best to utilise the strongest area of his team. Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour, Lewis Ferguson, John McGinn - on paper a midfield that should dictate matches against better teams than Iceland but they were set up in such a way that allowed the opposition to run through them all too easily. With Ryan Christie to come back into the equation, and Lennon Miller emerging as a player of huge promise, Clarke has more than enough quality at his disposal to ensure the Scotland engine room functions properly - which includes freeing up McTominay to play centrally as an attacking force, which he has done to devastating effect with Napoli in Serie A this season. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad There is also the striking problem. Clarke gave George Hirst his chance against Iceland and, barring a poor miss with a first-half header, the Ipswich front man gave a decent account of himself, forcing two good saves from goalkeeper Elías Rafn Ólafsson and netting a goal which was ruled out for an offside against McTominay in the build-up. But it was another match which passed by without a Scotland striker hitting the target. It has been a year and counting since Lawrence Shankland headed the opener in the 2-2 draw with Finland. Has any team ever qualified for a World Cup without a striker finding the net?
