THE wait is almost over now. The opening game of Euro 2024 takes place in Munich in a little over three weeks’ time and, this lunchtime, Steve Clarke will lay a sheet of paper on the table in the Hampden auditorium and confirm the names of 28 players in with a chance of lining up against the host nation in the Allianz Arena on June 14.
Not all of them will make the cut. Scotland will play friendlies against Gibraltar and Finland before two names are scored from the final list.
A brutal business, the process of making the final 26 will come down to Darwin’s evolutionary theory. It’s survival of the fittest.
‘The deadline to name the final squad is June 7, so we had a think about it and we think it is worthwhile bringing in 28 because we have got a number of players we need to have a look at,’ said assistant manager John Carver.
‘We have got all the data on everybody, how many minutes they have been playing, where they are in their fitness. So, I think it is worth bringing them into camp.
‘Then, we can actually see them day to day and we have obviously got the two games as well. So we can look at them real closely before Steve eventually finally names the 26.’
Steve Clarke and John Carver will today name their squad for Scotland’s Euro 2024 campaign
Celtic title winner James Forrest looks to have timed his run to perfection for a seat on plane
Bristol City’s Ross McCrorie could be the man to solve Clarke’s right wing-back dilemma
During the qualifying process for Germany, Clarke’s squad, like his starting XI, picked itself. The loss of midfielder Lewis Ferguson and first-choice right-backs Aaron Hickey and Nathan Patterson changed the narrative.
Ross McCrorie was fit enough to become a key player at Bristol City in the second half of the season. Anthony Ralston’s Celtic run-out against St Mirren last weekend was also timely while Motherwell’s Stephen O’Donnell and Max Johnston of Sturm Graz offer more options for what has suddenly become a problem position.
Talk of any late wild cards for the Newcastle players once mooted for Scotland duty can be discarded. While Liverpool’s Ben Doak and Connor Barron of Aberdeen are likely to be drafted in to build them up for the future, any surprises will be modest rather than seismic.
In central defence, Norwich City’s Grant Hanley managed only 10 appearances all season and will be given a chance to prove his fitness. Goalkeeper is another area of uncertainty with four candidates — Angus Gunn, Craig Gordon, Zander Clark and Liam Kelly — for three places. While the process of elimination will be brutal, one thing it won’t be is unfair.
‘Grant Hanley is an example,’ said Carver. ‘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.
Clarke will use the two pre-tournament friendlies to run the rule over some of his fringe men
Brentford defender Aaron Hickey will be missing from the squad after losing his fitness battle
Nathan Patterson would have started in Hickey’s absence but he too has been ruled out
‘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 will be gutted for them, but it will give them the opportunity to speak face to face with Steve.’
Celtic’s James Forrest came in from the cold to influence the destination of the Premiership title. Players with 22 winners’ medals are thin on the ground and the veteran wide man would offer Clarke an option from the bench. Given the issues on the right side of the pitch, it feels like a logical move.
‘There are one or two guys who have had a good end to the season, so they might be given an opportunity where they thought they were never going to get that opportunity,’ Carver acknowledged.
‘We have a number of question marks. I think it is the fairest way to get everybody up there, get the group together and then we can see it face to face, we can see it together as a group of staff along with the medical team, along with the sports scientists.’
Callum McGregor’s return to fitness has been warmly welcomed by assistant boss Carver
Carver can’t wait to get to Scotland’s camp in the Alpine town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Carver has never been a silent yes man as a No2. A lively, outgoing extrovert, the Geordie has spent recent months crossing the globe to watch players in person, reporting back with his findings.
A recent trip to America raises the tantalising prospect of a Lewis Morgan, Ryan Gauld or Johnny Russell coming in from the cold, but no guarantees that any of them will claim a seat on the plane.
A creature of habit, Clarke has spent so long on the phone to Carver, his assistant jokes of his golf game going to seed.
While his opinion is valued, Clarke earns the big bucks for a reason. The buck stops with him.
Norwich defender Grant Hanley will be a key man for Scotland if he can first prove his fitness
Carver has been putting in the miles across the country to watch squad hopefuls in action
For a time, the absence of Callum McGregor with Achilles tendonitis seemed to be another headache to add to the loss of Ferguson, Hickey and Patterson.
A condition requiring careful management, the Celtic captain’s return to form and fitness is a welcome piece of good news.
‘He is a leader. We know what he is like,’ said Carver. ‘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, gave him game time but not thrown him in at the deep end.
‘They have been pretty cautious with him. He looked back to his best at the weekend and that has got to be a bonus.’
The final squad of 26 players will be based in the small Alpine town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, near the Germany-Austria border.
Liverpool winger Ben Doak has missed most of the season with injury but is an exciting talent
Aberdeen midfielder Connor Barron could be chosen in the absence of injured Lewis Ferguson
Carver was speaking as he helped digital bank Chase launched a new football programme
Boasting ‘first-class facilities and a breathtaking, tranquil setting’, players will unwind after games in the hotel’s indoor swimming pool, heated outdoor infinity pool, and hot tub.
With a penthouse suite, private spa, panoramic sauna and roof terrace with mountain air, the nearby Mount Wank can be scaled via the Wankbahn cable car. By his own admission, Carver is ‘excited’.
‘I will be coming up for the Scottish Cup final this weekend and I will just stay up there,’ he said. ‘Once I come up on Saturday, that’s me in camp. So it is an exciting time.
‘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 all.’
John Carver was speaking as digital bank Chase launched a new football programme with the SFA and the other three Home Nations to provide fully funded access to 2,900 introductory coaching qualifications and 85 professional coaching bursaries to individuals from low-income backgrounds.
