Clarke 'always had eye on' Hibs striker Bowie
Head coach Steve Clarke says he has "always had an eye on" Kieron Bowie after handing the Hibernian striker his first Scotland call-up.
The 22-year-old forward has six goals in 22 appearances in all competitions for the Easter Road club this season after battling back from a hamstring injury he picked up on Under-21 duty.
"He's had a good season, Kieron is one I've always had my eye on from the Under-21s," Clarke said after naming his squad for the upcoming friendlies against Iceland and Liechtenstein.
"Any time I watched the Under-21s he always stood out. He's big, physical and strong with good attributes to his game.
"Going into the summer, you've got Lawrence Shankland and Kevin Nisbet, I know what they can bring, so it was just to have a look at something a little bit different and see if we can expand the pool of players.
"I keep talking about trying to get an overall bigger pool of players that we can select from and these games are a chance to look at one or two.
"You're looking for somebody to catch your eye. You want competition between them.
"That's why sometimes when you bring in some of the younger boys, the older boys are suddenly looking over their shoulder and thinking, 'aye, aye, he's thinking of something different'. It keeps them on their toes as well."
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