STEVE CLARKE is confident there will be no fall-out with Mark Warburton as he insisted striker Lyndon Dykes was fit and ready to go for Scotland.
Dykes watched the 1-1 draw with Poland from the Hampden stands on Thursday evening but is now in line to feature during the friendly with Austria after coming through recent training sessions unscathed.
QPR boss Warburton had cast doubt over whether Dykes would be available for international duty after missing several fixtures for the Championship side in recent weeks.
But Clarke is ready to pitch the striker into action in Vienna as Scotland aim to continue their unbeaten run and step up their World Cup preparations.
“I spoke to Mark before, but haven’t spoken to him since," Clarke said.
“Lyndon did his work with QPR and QPR said he was free to come up and join us on the Thursday. He did that and he watched the game against Poland.
“Since then he’d had a couple of training sessions and Lyndon is good to go. He wants to be involved.
“Obviously we have to be mindful of the fact he hasn’t played for over six weeks now. It’s been a long time out so it’s nice to have him back in the squad. It’s important to have him with the group.”
The latest international break has come at a crucial time of the campaign as clubs compete for domestic titles and look to secure success on the European stage this season.
It will be an anxious few days for bosses across the country as they await the safe return of their players ahead of the resumption of league action at the weekend.
But Clarke is only focused on the job in hand for himself and his staff on the back of another encouraging showing against Poland.
Clarke said: “I’m mindful of what we need to get out of these games, these particular games.
“It’s not such a bad camp because there is a game Thursday night and good recovery time before the Tuesday game.
“The way it shapes up now with the broadcast games, most of them are on a Sunday anyway. The bigger games tend to be later in the weekend.
“So there is plenty of time to recover on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. And for most of them Saturday before they play on the Sunday. It’s not a big issue.”
Scotland are still waiting to discover if they will have the chance to face Ukraine and take another step towards a place at the World Cup during the next international gathering at the end of the season.
Several of Clarke's players have hugely significant club commitments on the agenda but the Scotland boss knows where his duties lie as he prepares to mix and match his squad in Vienna.
Clarke said: “If I’m being honest, I try not to have the conversations [with managers]. That’s me just being honest.
“I have to do my job. My job is to put a winning team on the pitch for Scotland’s national team. I just have to do my job.
“Listen, I’ve been a club manager and understand the boundaries and how everybody wants to look after their own players at their clubs.
“Everybody has to be selfish, but I have to be selfish when they come into camp. When they come into camp I get to borrow those players for ten days, or whatever it is.
“I have to utilise them as I see fit, to do the job that I need them to do for their country.
“There will be more changes than there normally would be in a competitive double header. That’s all you’re getting out of me.”
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