JOHN MCGARRY: Scottish Premier League stars give manager Steve Clarke plenty to ponder as they kick off new season
With Scotland’s next Euro 2024 qualifier in Cyprus a little over three weeks away, Steve Clarke would have been hopeful that those players who are in contention to make his squad hit the ground running when the English Premier League restarted at the weekend.
Across the 10 games that were bookended by Manchester City’s win over Burnley on Friday and Manchester United’s victory over Wolves on Monday, 10 players Clarke will consider saw action with another key figure curiously omitted from the match day squad altogether.
Here, Mail Sport runs the rule over what was an opening card of mixed fortunes for those who’ll hope to play a part in a game which could see Scotland move closer to automatically clinching a place in Germany.
Talk about a tough day at the office for the Tartan Army favourite. St James’ Park re-established its reputation as a fortress as Eddie Howe’s Newcastle finished fourth last season and the addition of the likes of Sandro Tonali and Harvey Barnes will make it an even tougher place to visit.
Aston Villa were simply blown away by Newcastle’s pace and precision passing. McGinn made way for Diego Carlos on 64 minutes and had a ringside seat as the home side eventually romped to a 5-1 win.
Some 19 months after moving to Everton from Rangers, the full-back has yet to fully win over the blue side of Merseyside.
His display in the one-goal home loss to Fulham, in which he played the 90 minutes, did him no favours. He endured a tough time at the hands of Willian but came into the game once the Brazilian went off.
Missed a fine chance to score his first Everton goal when he hit the bar after Bernd Leno saved from Alex Iwobi. Could have done better positionally for Bobby De Cordova-Reid’s goal.
Never let it be said
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