STEVE CLARKE names his squad next week for Scotland’s World Cup qualifying matches later this month and he’s left with a bit of a tricky situation.

Normally you’re playing friendly matches this close to appearing at a major tournament and that gives you a chance to experiment a little knowing the outcome of the games doesn’t hugely matter.

Ordinarily Steve might have tinkered a bit with different formations or thrown in a few fringe players to see if they can make a case to be included when the time comes to finalise his squad for the European Championships.

But these matches coming up against Austria, Israel and the Faroe Islands are all hugely significant in their own right. And that opening game at home against the Austrians on March 25 probably falls into the must-win category if we’re going to have a realistic chance of making it to Qatar.

With all that in mind, I expect Steve won’t veer too far from the group that got Scotland to the Euros in November. He’s always said he likes to stay loyal to players who deliver for him and I think that will be the case when he names this group.

It will be interesting to see if he decides to stick with playing three at the back for these games coming up. And what he does with Scott McTominay who’s been having a brilliant season in midfield for Man United but who has become a key figure in defence for his country.

There are one or two other question marks over personnel. James Forrest has been a huge player for the national team in recent seasons but hasn’t long returned from a fairly lengthy injury lay-off. Will Steve be tempted to throw him straight back in? And would Celtic be happy with that? But we do need pacey wide players as we don’t have a great supply of them and Forrest is one of the best.

Similarly, Ryan Jack is another who has just returned from a period out. Rangers have got Europa League commitments to consider as well so maybe it will be too soon for the midfielder to rejoin the Scotland fold. 

I’ve also been having a good look at potential late runners who might have made a case to be included at this point. David Turnbull seems the most obvious one.

He had to bide his time to get a crack at Celtic but he’s done really well since coming into the team. You couldn’t argue if he was named in the Scotland squad.

Defensively I like the look of Jason Kerr at St Johnstone. He’s been impressive any time I’ve watched him this season and would definitely augment the squad. But he doesn’t seem someone who is on Steve’s radar at the minute.

It’s maybe unfortunate for the manager that Rangers, the best team in the country this season by some distance, only really have Jack as a Scotland contender at the minute.

But I think Nathan Patterson is one who will come into contention eventually, if not at this point then definitely in the years ahead. He looks a real prospect at right-back, a position we’ve not had great cover for in recent times.

Centre forward is another area of the pitch that Scotland have struggled with for a while now which makes it frustrating that Leigh Griffiths doesn’t seem to be able to command a regular game for Celtic. A fit and firing Griffiths would be straight into that No. 9 jersey but at the moment you couldn’t say for certainty that he’ll even make Steve’s squad for the Euros.

Lyndon Dykes hasn’t really made his mark since moving to QPR, Oli McBurnie and Oliver Burke are with a struggling Sheffield United side, the goals have dried up for Lawrence Shankland at Dundee United and the same goes for Kevin Nisbet at Hibs.

Ryan Fraser proved a brilliant foil for Dykes in the play-off games but hasn’t seen much action at Newcastle this term. But Steve could look to him to reprise that role and it’s one that Forrest can also fill when he’s fully fit again.

Stuart Armstrong is another attacking option. I rate him highly and he’s been great for Southampton this season and for me he should be a stick-on to start.

He’s got real football intelligence, finds pockets of space and looks to penetrate the opponents by timing his runs and going beyond the midfield. He’s also very good at linking with the striker and has an eye for an intricate pass. So that’s one definite positive.

The good thing about this Scotland team is that they’ve always been about the collective and working hard as a team.

There are no superstars, no Gareth Bale figure that Steve has built a team around. Often with Scotland it has been about the shape and the system and ensuring everyone knows their role. That way even if one or two are struggling for form, you always know you have others ready to step in and do their bit.

AND ANOTHER THING

I was pleased to see confirmation that the men’s lower divisions and the senior women’s game will soon be back up and running, with the SWPL1 returning early next month.

In my opinion that’s something that could have happened a lot sooner but it’s just good to see them finally getting the green light.

It must be so hard as a player not knowing when you might kick a ball again so for their mental health as much as anything it’s a hugely welcome development.