Steve Clarke facing Scotland goalkeeper crisis as bleak picture laid bare after Slicker's Iceland horror show
The Scotland head coach has been left short of options between the sticks after injuries picked up by Angus Gunn and Robby McCrorie
Frustrated Steve Clarke has revealed he was forced to hand rookie goalkeeper Cieran Slicker his international debut in last night’s abject 3-1 friendly defeat to Iceland due to his second choice stopper Robby McCrorie suffering a thigh injury during the warm-up.
The inexperienced and uncapped Ipswich Town No.2 had to replace Angus Gunn after just three minutes at Hampden Park when the former Southampton and Norwich City man appeared to land awkwardly on his ankle as he attempted to claim a high ball.
Slicker endured a sobering night between the sticks and had a part to play in all three of Iceland’s goals as they clinched a first win over the Scots at the seventh attempt, having lost all six previous meetings.
What Steve Clarke said about Scotland’s lack of goalkeeping options
“It was a difficult night,” Clarke sighed. “It didn’t get off to the best of starts when we lost our number two goalkeeper in the warm-up then two minutes into the game our number one gets injured as well.
“It was a tough night and I feel a little bit for young Cieran. I’ll sit with him over the next couple of days and have a little chat about it. I’ll give him reassurance because he probably went in when it was too early.
“He got thrown into a situation that he wasn’t quite ready for. That wasn’t his fault. That’s the circumstances that dictated that. We’ll now try and support him as much as we can.
“Listen, he’ll get over it. Goalkeepers are a resilient bunch. His character is good in and around the squad. He’s comfortable. This was probably just an opportunity that came a little bit too early for him. But we’ll be there to support him and help him.
“We could talk about about Cieran and what happened for him, but it’s a circumstance I pointed out in March. I could see something like this possibly happening.
“The only crumb of comfort to take from it is that it happened in a friendly match. And hopefully we can be better prepared when it comes to the autumn.”
Elaborating further on his lack of goalkeeping options, Clarke revealed the dire state of the current situation he is now facing.
He added: “Angus and Robby are both out. Angus hurt his ankle and Robby has a thigh injury. Craig Gordon is injured, Liam Kelly’s injured, Zander Clark is injured. Now Angus and Robby are injured.
“Fortunately we had young Callan McKenna (from AFC Bournemouth) in training with us this week so he’ll join the squad. I’ll also have a little scout around and see if anybody is not on the beach and is available to come.”