Not only are Gordon, Kelly and Clark out at present, Robby McCrorie went down in the warm-up. It all likelihood, he’s the one who would have come on against Iceland.
With Gunn and McCrorie likely to be out of Monday’s friendly against Liechtenstein, too, and Slicker’s confidence through the floor, will Clarke turn to someone else?
“You have to find out what’s in the player’s mind as well, how he’s feeling about it,” former Scotland defender Willie Miller said of Slicker.
“What you’re looking for is honesty from him. Does he feel like he can take on the challenge in the next game, or that he doesn’t want to?
“Does the manager want to take him out of the firing line?”
McKenna, 18, has more senior experience than Slicker, but not by much. He played nine matches for Queen’s Park in the Scottish Championship before signing for Bournemouth in 2024.
He’s been in their development squad since and has been with the Scotland group as a training player for the past week.
Given the lack of options, Clarke’s first phone call might be to Jon McLaughlin.
The two-time Scotland cap, 37, only played one FA Cup game for Swansea City last season and is now out of contract. But he was a squad regular, is experienced, and would likely be considered one of the safest options.
Dundee goalkeeper Jon McCracken was in Scotland squads during the season just gone, but was replaced between at Dens Park by Trevor Carson midway through the term.
Other Scotland-based options would be Scott Bain – recently released by Celtic – or Ross Doohan – recently signed by Celtic.
MK Dons keeper Craig MacGillivray has previously been called up by Clarke, too, but would appear to be a long way down the pecking order these days.
