STEVE Clarke has named uncapped Stoke City forward Jacob Brown in his Scotland squad for the Qatar 2022 qualifiers against Moldova and Denmark after receiving a glowing endorsement from Steven Fletcher.

Brown, the Halifax-born player who qualifies to represent this country because his mother comes from Robroyston in Glasgow, plays alongside Fletcher in attack at the bet365 Stadium club.

Clarke revealed the 33-times capped striker had backed his decision to call up the 23-year-old for the vital double header – the national team can secure a play-off place if they beat Moldova in Chisinau on Friday week.

“He’d done great for Stoke playing up front as a striker beside big Steven Fletcher,” he said. “Fletch has given me a good recommendation through a third party. If Steven is recommending him then you know he’s got something.

“He’s been on the radar for a while. I’m pretty sure he was going to be called up for the under-21s just before Covid hit when we became aware his mother was from Glasgow, Robroyston I believe.”

Clarke added: “He was released as a young kid (by Sheffield Wednesday) and then had to find a way back to senior football through non-league at Guiseley before he went to Barnsley.

“So he comes with a hunger having been rejected. He’s a wee bit different from Che Adams. He’s a pest, he’s energetic. If you’re a defender you know you’re in a game because he’s constantly asking questions of you.”

Meanwhile, Clarke has admitted he is wary of Scotland blowing their chance to finish second in Group F in their final two matches and will urge his players to treat Moldova with the same respect as Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark.

“Up until now it’s been a decent campaign, but we have to make sure we finish it off properly,” he said. “There’s always a little bit in the back of my mind that keeps saying: ‘Yeah, but we’re Scotland!’

“It’s always there. We have to be mindful of the fact that we have had various squads down the years that have been in similar situations and have managed to trip themselves up. So we have to make sure it doesn’t happen to us.

“So we are mindful of the fact that we can still trip up. We are going to treat Moldova and Denmark with equal respect and try to get the points that we need, first and foremost to qualify. The second part is to get enough points to be seeded for the play-offs, but the first is to qualify.

“We want to do that as soon as we can. Obviously we don’t know the points tally we’re going to need to secure second place, but if we come out of Moldova with 20 points then we’ll be there. That means it’s in our own hands.”