Steve Clarke is right - Scotland are in a good place - but issues need addressed ahead of World Cup showdowns

As Scotland’s hopes of World Cup qualification remain in a state of suspended animation, Steve Clarke is understandably keen to promote an upbeat narrative on his squad’s readiness to meet the challenge of the play-offs whenever they take place.

The Scotland manager does so with considerable justification on the back of an eight-match unbeaten run, stretching back to last September, which has undeniably engendered a feelgood factor around the national team.

But while Clarke publicly declares that Scotland ‘are in a good place, don’t worry about that’, privately he will appreciate better than anyone the issues he and his coaching staff need to address ahead of the play-off semi-final against Ukraine at Hampden and potential final against Wales in Cardiff.

In the limited periods he is able to spend with his players on the training pitch, Clarke has steadily and successfully established a system which generally brings the best out of the resources at his disposal.

As for any manager, however, his tactical approach is only as effective as the personnel charged with carrying it out.

Over the course of the friendly matches against Poland at Hampden last Thursday and Austria in Vienna on Tuesday night, fixtures which replaced the postponed World Cup play-off ties, there was evidence that Scotland’s three-man central defensive set-up is a cause for concern.

Too many opportunities were presented to the opposition in both games. Against the Poles, the warning signs were there when Bartosz Salamon sent a free header over the bar and Billy Gilmour had to scamper back from his midfield beat to clear off the line after more uncertainty at the back.

The vulnerabilities in defence were even more pronounced against Austria where only the