Two big choices for Scotland boss Steve Clarke while departing Don Stewart Milne deserves tribute

This time next week the nation will be at fever pitch with Scotland just hours away from a return to the top table of world football.

Twenty-eight years of frustration and disappointment will never be forgotten, but the pain will be assuaged a little, replaced by the pride of seeing 11 Scotsmen walk out on to the Gillette Stadium pitch.

Whatever unfolds across the following ten days, that will be a very special moment.

Generations of players, some highly talented and deserving of such a stage, missed out during those barren times, but the current crop have finally achieved that long-awaited goal; their dreams will be realised at the 2026 World Cup Finals.

The squad has been preparing in the States for almost a week now, and on Saturday night face their last run out before the tournament opener against Bolivia in New Jersey.

For the Scots, the emphasis will be on getting a few pointers about Steve Clarke’s line-up for Haiti, and avoiding any further injuries.

Clarke lost Billy Gilmour in the Curacao game a week ago, a devastating blow for the midfielder, and will be desperate to avoid any repeat.

A shock call from Clarke

The manager surprised plenty of us when he brought in Tyler Fletcher as Gilmour’s replacement.

Having played just 17 minutes for Manchester United it is hard to see how the youngster merited the call-up, but he apparently showed up well in training, and caught the eye of the coaching staff.

It was most unlike Steve Clarke, normally a fairly conservative manager, and it will be interesting to see what part, if any, Fletcher plays in the next fortnight.

I will also be keen to see Clarke’s selection for this evening and what bearing it might have on his thoughts ahead of the group kicking-off.

He will almost certainly have a starting 11 already in his mind for that one, but the rest of us are currently playing a guessing game.

Who will the goalkeeper be? Will he play a back four? Has Lawrence Shankland done enough to secure his place up front?

The answer to the last question has to be a resounding yes, he is by a distance the best goalscorer we have, and fully deserves to lead the line.

I am assuming it will be four at the back, but he might be tempted to go for extra security when the action gets underway, and that will necessarily affect the approach further up the pitch.

As for the keeper, I would go for Craig Gordon, but get the sense the manager will pick Angus Gunn.

Whichever players he chooses, immortality beckons for the group, as a nation holds its collective breath ahead of what could be a summer we will never forget.

Milne’s desire to do well at Dons was never in doubt

The news broke this week that, after 32 years’ service, Stewart Milne is stepping down from the Aberdeen FC board.

It has been quite a shift, one marked with a few memorable highs, but plenty shuddering lows.

Like his successor, Dave Cormack, Stewart had plenty big calls to make as chairman, sacking and hiring a string of managers, and he had, on occasion, to withstand a barrage of criticism from angry fans, but in everything he did, Stewart had the Dons’ best interests at heart.

Mistakes were made, but he put plenty into the club in both financial and emotional terms, and his intentions could never be questioned.

The last two big decisions Stewart made, hiring Craig Brown then Derek McInnes – with whom he built a deep connection – were perhaps the best of his time in charge, heralding a period of stability and consistency we had been crying out for.

And, of course, it led to his most memorable quote, live on Sportsound: “Nineteen years, 120 minutes, and then f***ing penalties…” when the Dons lifted the League Cup in 2014.

I got to know Stewart well over the decades, always enjoyed his company, and I am well aware what the club means to him. The Aberdeen statement said a fitting tribute will be arranged in due course; it will be well deserved.

[Source: Press and Journal]