New Scotland boss Steve Clarke is set to raid Rugby Park today to call up four players for his first ever national squad.
Record Sport understands Kilmarnock striker Eamonn Brophy and defenders Stuart Findlay, Greg Taylor and Stephen O’Donnell will all be named by Clarke as part of his group for the vital end-of-season qualification double-header against Cyprus and high-flying Belgium.
The national manager will announce his selection this morning at Hampden after spending much of the last week holding private heart-to-hearts with a number of senior players who went missing during the death throes of Alex McLeish’s time in charge, including the likes of West Ham’s Robert Snodgrass, Newcastle talisman Matt Ritchie and Sheffield Wednesday striker Steven Fletcher.
Clarke has offered each of them a clean slate with their country and a route straight back into the qualification campaign for Euro 2020.
And he will reveal today which of them, if any, have accepted the invitation.
But while Clarke has attempted to build bridges across the border, he has had no hesitation in turning also to the players who helped him turn Killie from relegation fodder into Europa League hopefuls.
Brophy – who has won caps at Under-19 and U-21 level – is set for his first call-up to the senior squad at the age of 23.
Uncapped Findlay, also 23, is expected to keep his place in the squad after being initially enlisted by McLeish for the ill-fated trip to Kazakhstan and San Marino which led to the manager being removed from the frontline just two games into the latest
qualifying campaign.
Aged just 21, left-back Taylor has never before been called into the senior squad but – with Kieran Tierney going under the knife for surgery on a hernia and skipper Andy Robertson still to come through next weekend’s Champions League Final – he could be fast-tracked into a first full cap.
Right-back O’Donnell became a regular under McLeish chalking up seven appearances for the national team in the last 12 months.
Now all four are set to be reunited in Clarke’s first squad as the new manager attempts to get off to a flying start with a win over Cyrpus at Hampden a week on Saturday before the daunting prospect of a trip to Brussels next week.
