Steve Clarke has not sought any kind of guarantees from Elliot Anderson about the midfielder’s Scotland future.
The Whitley Bay-born Newcastle United player, who has a Scottish grandmother, has played at youth level for both Scotland and England.
The 20-year-old was called up by the Scotland boss for the first time for the Euro 2024 qualifier against Cyprus in Larnaca on Friday and the challenge match against England at Hampden Park next week after deciding against switching allegiance to England following positive discussions with Clarke.
However, Anderson officially withdrew from the squad on Wednesday night after picking up an injury in training.
Asked at the pre-match media conference in Cyprus if he had sought any assurances from Anderson, the Scotland boss said: “No. He just went home.”
The Scotland boss had already been asked if he had any fears surrounding international allegiances, and had said: “It is not something I can control.
“There’s not a lot I can do about it.
“Obviously (disappointing not to have the chance to work with Elliot), that’s why we brought him into the squad.
“Disappointing to lose Elliot and Liam (Kelly) on the same day but that’s part and parcel of international football, you deal with it.
“Obviously we had to replaced Liam because we couldn’t come with two goalkeepers so we brought in young Robby (McCrorie). who has been part of the squad before, he understands. We didn’t need to replace Elliot because we have enough midfielders.”
Scotland top Group A with four wins from four and have gone eight competitive games without defeat.
An expected victory against Cyprus, who were beaten 3-0 at Hampden Park, could see Scotland qualify for a second successive Euros next Tuesday if results elsewhere go their way.
However, Clarke – whose side is expected to be backed by around 6,000 fans in a stadium which has a capacity of 8,058 – played down the exciting prospect of going to Germany next summer.
He said: “I am not really the excitable kind, am I? Just concentrating on the game coming up.
“The players are in a good place, they are a good place in the group.
“At halfway we have maximum points, you can’t do much better than that.
“Some of the moments within the game we can improve on.
“We don’t think for a minute that we are the finished article, we will look to improve and the players have said that we will.
“We want to keep improving and improving but always respect the opponent.
“It will be difficult. They are a proud team, proud to represent their country, Cyprus.
“They are always difficult opponents for us.
“Two late goals probably put a little gloss on the scoreline (at Hampden) so we expect a tough game.”
Much is being made of the high temperatures in Cyprus but Clarke was relaxed about the 9.45pm local time kick-off.
He said: “When we came off the plane last night at the back of 10 the conditions were OK.
“It was pretty hot in Norway when we went there so we have some experience and it was nice and sunny in Glasgow when we left so you just have to deal with the conditions as they are and make sure we get the result that we want.”
Palace star Olise would have hit 20 goals without injuries, says Andersen
Michael Olise would have scored at least 20 Premier League goals if he had stayed fit throughout the entire season, believes his Crystal Palace captain Joachim Andersen.
Olise continued his excellent form as Palace stretched their unbeaten run to six games with a deserved 3-1 win at Wolves on Saturday, opening the scoring with a curling finish and later adding an assist for Eberechi Eze.
The creative midfielder – who has been linked with Manchester United and Chelsea in recent weeks – has been involved in 15 goals in just 18 league appearances this campaign (10 goals, five assists).
That is his best return in a single Premier League season, bettering the 13 goal contributions he managed in 37 outings in 2022-23 (two goals, 11 assists).
Speaking to Palace's website, centre-back Andersen said: "Imagine if he played all 37 games!
"He would have scored 20 or 25 goals if he was playing like this. He's a crazy player and we're lucky to have him, and hopefully he will score again next weekend."
Palace have won seven (38.9 per cent) of the 18 Premier League games in which Olise has featured this term, compared to five of 19 without him (26.3 per cent).They have also averaged one goal more per game when Olise has been involved (1.9) than they have without him (0.9).
While Olise's return from a hamstring injury has been a major boost for the Eagles, the appointment of Oliver Glasner has also had a transformative impact.
Since he took charge of his first Premier League game in February, only Manchester City (nine wins, 29 points) and Arsenal (nine wins, 28 points) have bettered Palace's six victories and 21 points.
Asked what has changed under Glasner, Andersen said: "Everyone is happy and everyone understands what we need to do on the pitch, everyone knows their role.
"I think you could see it from the first games, even though we didn't get the results straight away. I think we were a little bit unlucky with some of the results.
"It's just fantastic to see how everyone is understanding his messages and getting on board with what he wants."
Cole Palmer 'one of the best in the world' - Reece James
Cole Palmer has been hailed as "one of the best in the world" by team-mate Reece James after playing his part in Chelsea's thrilling 3-2 win at Nottingham Forest.
England international Palmer superbly assisted Mykhailo Mudryk's early opener in Saturday's Premier League contest, before Willy Boly's swift leveller and Callum Hudson-Odoi's second-half curler put Forest in front.
Chelsea pulled off a remarkable late turnaround, however, as Raheem Sterling levelled up on 80 minutes and fellow substitute James assisted Nicolas Jackson's winner two minutes later at City Ground.
Palmer's assist means he has directly contributed to 31 goals in the Premier League this season, which is the joint-most in the division alongside Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the late win at Forest, captain James said: "Cole Palmer is one of the best in the world, I think personally.
"At [Manchester] City he didn't play as much as he would like but he has come here and taken the chance with both hands."
Palmer is just the fourth player in Premier League history to score 20 or more goals and provide 10 or more assists in his debut campaign for a club.
The others on that prestige list are Andrew Cole with Newcastle United in 1993-94, Jurgen Klinsmann with Tottenham in 1994-95 and Mohamed Salah with Liverpool in 2017-18.
The 22-year-old, stood alongside James, said of his colleague's comments: "I wouldn't go that far! But it's nice to hear.
"It's all new to me. This is my first season playing properly in the league. It was a very important win and now we focus on the next one."
Chelsea have now won three Premier League games in a row and are level on points with sixth-place Newcastle United.
Since Boxing Day, only Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool have picked up more points than Chelsea's 35 in the Premier League, while only leaders City have suffered fewer defeats.
James, who was making his return from a five-month absence, added: "We learn every day.
"We're still young but we are improving and we're coming strong at the end of the season. Slowly but surely we are finding our feet and reaching a level."
Granada 0-4 Real Madrid: Diaz stars in crushing victory for LaLiga champions
Newly-crowned LaLiga champions Real Madrid earned an emphatic 4-0 win over relegated Granada on Saturday, breaking a single-season club record after making it 29 LaLiga games unbeaten.
Carlo Ancelotti's side continued their superb form following their Champions League semi-final win over Bayern Munich, reaching 90 points in the league and moving 15 clear of second-placed Girona.
Fran Garcia broke the deadlock with an easy finish after a long series of passes in the 38th minute before he set up Arda Guler to slot home and extend the advantage just before half-time.
Brahim Diaz made it 3-0 in the 49th minute with a shot into the near post, and the former Manchester City attacker scored his second nine minutes later off a Luka Modric pass from the right.
A much-changed Madrid were in control throughout as Los Blancos moved to 29 league matches undefeated, surpassing their best unbeaten run in a single campaign under John Toshack in 1989-90.
Granada, meanwhile, were already relegated after Mallorca's 1-0 win at Las Palmas as their LaLiga stay came to an abrupt end on Saturday.
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