MIDDLESBROUGH striker Tommy Conway is one of the Scotland players giving boss Steve Clarke "sleepless nights" as he weighs up his selection dilemmas ahead of two crunch games this weekend.
Conway is back in the Scotland squad after missing the last get-together through injury and linked-up with the national side on the back of a spell of fine form with Boro.
Aston Villa's John McGinn is also among the players trying to break into the side for Friday’s Nations League encounter with Croatia at Hampden.
Centre-backs Jack Hendry and Scott McKenna have returned to the squad, while Hearts forward Lawrence Shankland and Celtic left-back Greg Taylor are also in Clarke’s thoughts after dropping out last month through injury.
Stuart Armstrong has been recalled after making a positive impact at Vancouver Whitecaps following the withdrawal of Che Adams and Lewis Morgan.
Ben Doak is also set to again feature prominently after impressing last month and dazzling for Boro in recent weeks.
RECOMMENDED READING:
- Middlesbrough's Tommy Conway pictured in Scotland training
- Riley McGree will return to Middlesbrough with one thing on his mind
- Key Middlesbrough chat that paved way for Morgan Rogers' Aston Villa & England joy
Scotland held Portugal to a goalless draw to get off the mark in Group A1 and are looking to keep their hopes of avoiding relegation alive when they take on Croatia before facing Poland in Warsaw on Monday.
On the returning players, Clarke said: “It’s great. I haven’t slept this week because you’ve got so many permutations going through your head, it’s brilliant. Good choices again.
“We’ve got good options (in the final third). Like I said, Tommy Conway back in, back involved.
“Ryan Gauld showing that he can come in and do a good job. Ben Doak was good for us last camp. You’ve got John McGinn back, you’ve got Ryan Christie, you’ve got Stuart Armstrong. Like I said, sleepless nights.”
Scotland still have a slim chance of finishing second in the group and guaranteeing another shot at the top level of the Nations League.
They would need to win their final two games and hope other results fall their way, while anything less than a win against Croatia could potentially consign them to bottom spot before the final match.
Clarke is looking for a similar but improved performance to the one that held Portugal last time out.
“Obviously, you know when you play against the top sides, of which Croatia are definitely one, you have to defend well. So there’s your similarity, we have to defend well,” he said.
“We have to do a little bit better with the ball. We didn’t quite get enough possession against Portugal. With the little bit of possession that we did get, we showed that we can create some chances. So that’s what we have to improve on.
“That’s been the one thing over the Nations League campaign that we’ve shown, we can be competitive at this level. We have to find the extra little details that turn these performances into results.
“But we’ve got two games to come and still a chance to be really competitive in this group and stay at that level, which is what we all want.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here