Zander Clark Scotland horror show could hurt future Rangers move

With two other goalkeepers ruled out with injury, Zander Clark found himself with the perfect opportunity to show he was worthy of being on the Scotland squad flight to Germany next summer.

Instead, he found himself conceding five goals in two games with plenty of question marks being thrown at his credentials.

The latter match with Denmark in particular was not one Clark will look back on fondly, as he was arguably at fault for all three of the away side’s goals.

Such was his display that many fans looked to the bench and would have preferred to see Rangers backup goalkeeper Robby McCrorie between the sticks instead.

When it comes to McCrorie, it is hard to argue that the reason he wasn’t in the starting 11 was due to the fact that his game minutes at Ibrox have been zero this season due to the form of Jack Butland.

It has led to speculation that he may look for pastures new come January in order to improve his chances of still being in the Scotland squad come Euro 2024 in June.

That is where Clark comes back into the Rangers equation, as with a need for home grown talent in the squad for European purposes, filling one of the backup slots with a Scot would be a sensible approach – and given the fact that he is a well known lifelong Bear, he’d no doubt jump at the chance should it become available.

Lets firstly not totally degrade Clark’s ability. He has shown throughout his career to-date that he is a good goalkeeper at a mid to low level in the Scottish top flight.

But when you play at a club the size of Rangers, even as a back up, you need to be at a certain level should your services be called upon. Jon McLaughlin looked lost when given the Number 1 brief last season, when anytime he was asked to step up before then as a backup, he proved such a reliable deputy that he was given a chance that ended up being a step above his talents.

Scott Bain at Celtic proved another who looked very capable when playing for Dundee, but has since looked a scary spine for defences ever since.

Now, there could be every chance that Clark may well step up his game training regularly with a keeper of the calibre of Butland. However, he’s had over a year working with one of this country’s finest shot stoppers of the last two decades in Craig Gordon, and the only sign he’s had of dislodging him was when he got injured.

At Rangers, we are lucky to have a Number 2 as good as McCrorie, but it’s looking more and more clear that his ambitions could soon outgrow his current role.

Based on current evidence, Clark has shown little at a top level to merit getting close to replacing him, and given the lack of Scottish keepers coming through anywhere, this may be a problem Philippe Clement will need to address sooner rather than later.