Republic of Ireland v Scotland: Five Scotland internationals who deserve a chance & five who should be dropped
Steve Clarke’s side head to Dublin this weekend for their latest UEFA Nations League fixture.
Scotland’s trip to the Aviva Stadium this Saturday will be the third match in ten days for Steve Clarke and his players and could offer the former Kilmarnock boss a chance to experiment with his line-up.
The 58-year old is not known for making wholesale changes to either his squad or starting line-up, preferring a close-knit group of the same names.
However, there are currently three uncapped players in the squad and seven more who have only appeared five times or less in the dark blue jersey.
The match with the Republic of Ireland, who have lost both of their opening Nations League games, and subsequent trip to Armenia on Tuesday could be the perfect time for Clarke to give one or more of these players their chance to shine.
Meanwhile, there are other players in the group who may well be in the position of finding themselves dropped to the bench or out of the squad completely.
For some it may simply be that they are in need of a rest while others, although still performing well, are very much in the latter stages of their career meaning future planning is in order.
Then there are some whose simply need to be dropped as performance levels haven’t been up to scratch.
Here are five players from the current Scotland squad who we believe deserve a chance to start against the Republic of Ireland on Saturday and five who perhaps shouldn’t...
1. Out - Craig Gordon
The Hearts keeper is comfortably the best option that Scotland have between the sticks, but at 39 he might not have many years left and Steve Clarke should consider blooding one of his two back-up stoppers.
2. IN - Liam Kelly
The Motherwell stopper and his St Johnstone counterpart Zander Clark have been in recent squad but neither have received their first cap and with Clark withdrawing from injury it could be Kelly who gets a chance between the sticks
3. Out - Liam Cooper
The Leeds United skipper has never really been a first choice of Steve Clarke but has also failed to impress when given an opportunity with his most recent performance against Ukraine amongst his worst displays.
4. In - Allan Campbell
The only uncapped outfield player in the current squad has had an impressive season domestically, helping Luton Town reach the play-offs, and a first appearance for his country could be a fitting reward for his fine form.