Kieran Tierney’s return leaves Scotland boss Steve Clarke with selection poser

Steve Clarke admits the return of Kieran Tierney has left him with “a lot of thinking to do” ahead of Scotland’s Nations League play-off against Greece on Thursday night.

Clarke returned to a back four during the Nations League campaign due to the Arsenal defender’s absence through injury, where previously he was a key part of a back three.

However, Tierney is back in the squad for the first leg in Athens and Clarke said: “No headache, a nice problem to have when you have good players to select from.

“We’ve also lost a few players in the build-up to the game, so we brought some younger ones in and it has freshened training up a bit, so it has been good preparation.

“And as a coach you want as many difficult choices as possible and I have a few of them.

“I’m always thinking of changing things. You have to wait to see the team on the pitch.

“It gives us another option. We have discussed it and spoken about it and hopefully we can come up with the right solution for the game.

“Obviously we changed the whole way we approached the Nations League when we went with four.

“It worked well because we also had the outlet on the right-hand side with the pace of Ben (Doak). So we didn’t have the option of putting Kieran into the team. So, yes, it’s given me a lot to think about.”

Clarke believes his players should embrace the atmosphere in the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium on Thursday night.

He said: “It’s 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.

“It’s always good for the players to play in a strong atmosphere, to enjoy it.”

Clarke spoke about fielding an experienced side but was full of praise for new-boy George Hirst.

The 26-year-old forward, who plays for Ipswich, was included after the paperwork cleared. Hirst qualifies for Scotland through his grandfather.

Clarke said: “He’s good, obviously. He’s a big lad.

“He’s had injury problems this season so he’s been a little bit in and out of the Ipswich team.

“He’s scored some goals recently, which is good. I have always liked him. He’s similar in style and stature to Lyndon Dykes, who misses out with an injury.

“Hopefully he can bring as much to the team as Lyndon has always brought to the team.

“He’s a target player. We’ve always tried to have that type of forward player because we feel we’ve got goals in the midfield.

“I pray that George can help us to maybe score a few more goals.”

Clarke is determined Scotland will still be a League A side following Sunday’s Hampden Park second leg.

He added: “It’s important because of the work we have put into the group stage. We spent a long time trying to get into the top section of the Nations League.

“We managed to get into a position that puts us in the play-off and obviously we want to stay there.”