No theatre or Scotland curveballs from loyal Clarke

Beforehand, we knew most things, pretty much. We knew because Clarke said a few weeks ago that the squad was more or less set in his head already. He values loyalty like he appreciates his next breath, so while others made the case for Oli McBurnie, Oliver Burke, Kieron Bowie, Stephen Welsh and others, Clarke would barely have noticed. You got the sense that McBurnie could have scored a hat-trick in every game in the last two months of the season and Clarke would have been unmoved. Maybe he doesn't fancy him as a footballer, maybe he doesn't fancy him as a human being. Whatever. We weren't expecting fireworks, but there was, at least, a story or two. Findlay Curtis, the bit-part and underappreciated 19-year-old from Rangers, is included after a productive loan spell at Kilmarnock. In taking a few steps down the Premiership table, Curtis propelled himself forward into a promised land. Ross Stewart, a striker injury-plagued and largely ignored in the Clarke era, was selected on the back of stellar form for his club, Southampton. Stewart's goals and power and all-round work-rate is obvious. Sadly, his injury profile has been just as prevalent. …