Steve Clarke sent a Kieran Tierney reality check by Arsenal legend after Celtic star left out at ‘toxic’ Hampden
Martin Keown thinks Kieran Tierney should start for Scotland after some poor performances
Arsenal legend Martin Keown believes finding a place for Kieran Tierney would be a start for Steve Clarke as he looks to rejuvenate things after some questionable performances in Scotland.
From the looks of it, the Scots are flying in Group C and two wins against Greece and Belarus have guaranteed us a playoff spot at the very least – and winning the group is still in our hands.
But Scotland had to dig deep to come back and beat Greece after a lousy first hour, and they were booed after Sunday night’s 2-1 win over Belarus, making things tough against the team ranked 100th in the world.
Once the dust settles, the chance is there to qualify for the World Cup next month and after Clarke himself admitted he might have been the angriest at a performance in his 72 games.
So if he’s looking to shake things up, Gunners legend Keown believes finding a place for Tierney – who has been a regular for Celtic since returning from the Emirates – could be the place to start.
The 28-year-old came off the bench in both matches, replacing Andy Robertson against the Greeks before playing the final stretch at right-back against Belarus.
And Keown believes he has earned his place in the starting XI.
He said on talkSPORT: “What else did Clarke want to say? If you hadn’t watched the game you would have watched it and said, ‘Aren’t Scotland doing really well?’
“The last two Euros, they qualified. They haven’t qualified for a World Cup since 1998. It’s been a very long time. This pressure seems to weigh heavily on them.
“It’s interesting the contrast with England, where you could say we don’t have great fans, but we have a very good team.
“Their fans against Belarus were hammering the players. It must be toxic to play there. It must be very, very difficult.
“You can’t even say that because you want that energy behind you, and it wasn’t there from the Scottish fans. It makes it doubly difficult.
“I know you have to give them something to be happy about. Basically he (Clarke) has to watch. I think Tierney should start. He came off the bench.”
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