Kieran Tierney Scotland dilemma back on as Clarke could create history with Serie A first but boss is giving little away

He's not had to think about it for a while but the Dark Blues boss will be faced with the same old conundrum

He’s not had to think about it for a while but Steve Clarke will be faced with the same old conundrum.

What exactly do you do with a problem like Kieran Tierney?

With the best will in the world it’s the kind of headache the Scotland manager would rather have than not after being deprived of the Arsenal man’s services for as long as he’s been forced to.

Tierney’s last international cap came against Switzerland at last summer’s Euros which, although it was only nine months or so ago, somehow feels like a lifetime away already.

In the intervening months, Clarke has recalibrated his side, switching from a five at the back to a four, all in the name of progression and making Scotland a more front footed, forward thinking force on the international stage.

And yet now here we are, back at the start. In Athens ahead of the first leg of a double header against Greece which will determine whether or not Clarke and his players are allowed access to another campaign in the top flight of the Nations League or sent down the divisions to kick about with the also rans.

And once again, Tierney’s role in it all is the subject of considerable debate.

Does Clarke rip up his brave new template to return to the bespoke formation which was designed with the sole purpose of squeezing Tierney and Andy Robertson in the same starting XI?

Or does he do the previously unthinkable and leave Celtic’s returning prodigal son watching on from a seat on Scotland’s bench?

The truth is that Tierney is as close as they come to being a Rolls Royce of a football player but his history of injuries have rendered him with the reliability of a Morris Minor.

Now that’s back fit and firing going into his final months at the Emirates, Clarke has a familiar dilemma on his hands. But this time, it feels different and the solution far less certain.

“It’s not a headache,” Clarke said, albeit with a touch of a grimace, after arriving here in the ancient capital.

He went on: “It’s a nice problem to have when you have a lot of good players to select from.

“We’ve also lost a few players in the build up to the game and we’ve managed to bring some younger ones in to freshen things up a little bit. So we’ve had good preparation.

“But, as a coach, you want as many difficult choices as possible.”

When asked directly if he is considering throwing out the tactical blueprint which carried Scotland through the Nations League group stage in order to accommodate Tierney in his side he said: “I’m always thinking of changing things. You’ll just have to wait until you see the team on the pitch.

“But, listen, it gives us another option. We’ve spoken about it and hopefully we can come up with the right solutions.

‘The team’s been good with a back four. Obviously we changed the whole way we approached the games in the Nations League group stages. We went with four at the back and it worked.

“It worked well because we also had an outlet on the right hand side with the pace of Ben Doak. We didn’t have the option of putting Kieran into the team so it’s certainly given me a lot to think about.”

It will be fascinating to see what way Clarke twists now that a place in League A is about to go on the line over the course of these next four days, with the return leg to follow at Hampden on Sunday.

He has brought a more youthful looking squad to Athens with the likes of new boys Lennon Miller, James Wilson and George Hirst freshening up his group.

Bologna skipper Lewis Ferguson is also back in contention for a starting role after recovering from the knee injury which ruled him out of Clarke’s tournament plans in Germany last summer.

In fact, Clarke could become the first Scotland manager in history to select a midfield straight from Serie A, with Napoli pair Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour already certain starters.

But, as ever, Clarke was remaining stubbornly coy when asked if this feels like something of a fresh start for his team.

He responded: “I always feel like a fresh start to me after that winter break. It’s a long time from November to March before you get your group of players back together.

"It’s nice, like I said earlier, it’s nice to have four new faces around you but we’ve brought in a bit of youth as well, which is always good - and hopefully, a little glimpse of the future.

“But obviously, we’ve got the boys that have done ever so well. We’ve got lots of experience, lots of caps. And maybe the situation, the atmosphere here tomorrow and the opponents that we’re playing needs an experienced team on the pitch.”

Again, he was giving little away when it was pointed out that the heart of his engine room could be made up entirely of players earning a living in Italy’s top flight.

He said: “They’ve done well and some of them have done very well. So, for me as a coach, it’s great that they’re here. It’s great that I can select them.

“It’s another area of the pitch where maybe I have to disappoint one of the midfield players that we’ve got in terms of picking the side and working towards getting the right team on the pitch. But it’s an area of the pitch where we’re very strong. And we’re pleased to have all those midfield players available.”

Close observers of Clarke over the course and distance might guess that that’s his way of saying Kenny McLean might keep Ferguson on the sidelines.

It does feel as if experience and miles in the tank will be among the manager’s first considerations in a white hot atmosphere at the home ground of Olympiacos.

Clarke said: “The atmosphere is not an issue. You want the strongest atmosphere you can get if you’re a player. You’ve got to come here and enjoy this type of occasion, this type of atmosphere.

“We’re used to it. We’ve played against good teams away from home before. Recently we’ve had a couple of good results away from home. Hopefully we can get another one here tomorrow night

“These matches are important because of the work we put into the group stage. We spent a long time trying to get into the top section of the Nations League but we managed to do it.

Now we’ve managed to get ourselves into the position that puts us in the play-offs so obviously we want to stay in it.”