Scotland boss Steve Clarke says he feels for Blues keeper Cieran Slicker following his difficult full international debut in the 3-1 defeat to Iceland at Hampden Park and admitted that the 22-year-old may have been thrown into a situation he wasn’t ready for.
Slicker came off the bench in the seventh minute, replacing former Norwich man Angus Gunn, who had suffered a knock.
The former Manchester City youngster, who played only nine minutes for the Blues during the season as a late sub in the 3-0 FA Cup victory over Bristol Rovers with the game already well won, had been Scotland’s third-choice keeper on the night but second string, Kilmarnock’s Robby McCrorie, picked up an injury in the warm-up.
"It was disappointing,” Clarke told BBC Radio Scotland. "The night didn't get off to a good start.
"It’s difficult for Cieran. I feel for him, I really feel for him. He got thrown into a situation where perhaps he wasn't quite ready for it.
"But Craig [Gordon]’s injured, Liam Kelly's injured, Zander Clark was injured.
"I mentioned back in March that it was something I thought might come back to bite us. The only good thing is it came in a friendly match.”
Clarke, who expects Gunn to be unavailable for the friendly against Liechtenstein in Vaduz on Monday, has already added another keeper, 18-year-old Callan McKenna, who joined Bournemouth from Queen’s Park last February, and is hoping to draft another more senior glovesman.
"I've had young Callan McKenna with us,” he added. "Callan will travel, and hopefully we’ll find another somewhere in Scotland who’s not on holiday.”
However, Slicker could well start with Clarke set to talk to the Town number three and assess him ahead of the match.
"We’ll see how he reacts, how he is overnight, how he is in training on Saturday or Sunday, before we travel and make a decision from there,” Clarke continued.
Quizzed on how he might lift Slicker, he said: "Just by reassurance, that he probably went in when it was too early. He wasn’t quite ready for it. That’s not his fault. That’s the circumstances that dictated that.
"We’ll try and support him as much as we can and, listen, he’ll get over it. Goalkeepers are a resilient bunch.
"He’s good around the squad, he’s comfortable. Like I said, probably an opportunity that came a little bit too early for him but we’ll be there to support him and help him.”