Zander Clark sends message to 3 Scotland keeper rivals as Hearts shotstopper determined to be Steve Clarke's No.1

Zander Clark knew what he was getting into when he chose Hearts in the summer.

The job of displacing Craig Gordon was a monumental one and getting into the Scotland squad looked like an even bigger ask. Yet tomorrow, the Jambos keeper will almost certainly achieve the latter, having already done the former due to Gordon’s horrific leg break on Christmas Eve.

The former St Johnstone No.1 admits the circumstances in which he has taken over from Gordon aren’t ideal but having been handed the gloves, he’s carried on with the form he showed in Perth that was good enough to make the Scotland set-up a couple of years ago. And when Steve Clarke names his squad for this month’s Euro qualifiers against Cyprus and Spain, it’s looking like a straight fight for a starting slot between the Tynecastle shot-stopper and Norwich’s Angus Gunn.

That’s a challenge he’ll relish, having already taken on such a big one by backing himself to win a first-team jersey with his club side. Next up, he hopes it will be a similar success story for his country and if Clark can replicate the form he showed in Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to Celtic in the Scottish Cup, he won’t be far away.

“I believe in myself,” he said. “I’ve played in high-profile games. That would be a massive moment but I need to make sure I’m in the squad first before I start talking about that.

“It’s a clean slate for whoever is selected to try and get that starting place. Craigy, Greegsy (Allan McGregor) and big Marsh (David Marshall) have played nearly every game for Scotland for the last 25 years or something, so it’s going to be a clean slate.

“The quality the three of them have produced over the years is incredible. As a fan as well, it’s great to see. Whoever goes in next needs to