There will, of course, be a very good reason for it.
Steve Clarke isn’t merely playing the role as the self styled King of the Killjoys just for the sake of keeping up curmudgeonly appearances. Even if, sometimes it does feel very much like it. No, assuming we can all accept now that, in all probability, the national boss knows exactly what he is doing as Scotland’s manager then there must be some sound logic behind his attempts to curb the country’s enthusiasm and put a cap on excitement levels where Ben Doak is concerned. Even if, deep down, he must also know that he’s already fighting a losing battle.
On Monday night in Warsaw, Clarke wasn’t slow in letting the world know that he’s already getting tired of fielding questions about the emergence onto the international scene of this 19-year-old prodigy. “Congratulations on asking a few questions before we actually get round to talking about Ben. I appreciate that.”
That was how he put it. It was Clarke’s way of sending out a warning shot to the assembled media that he wasn’t sitting there just to further the feel good factor which has accompanied the youngster’s coming of age in a Scotland shirt. On the contrary, Clarke appears to be taking the polar opposite approach.
A little later on in that same conference room, Clarke was happy to promote the idea that Doak might not even keep his place in the starting XI despite his man of the match performance in Friday night’s win over Croatia. Clarke was quick to comment in the immediate aftermath of that 1-0 win, that although Doak created John McGinn’s winning goal that he could have had another couple of assists and perhaps even got his own name on the scoresheet.
He talked too on Monday night about the winger’s deficiencies and the improvements Doak still has to make in order to develop into the player the rest of the country already suspects him to be. “You guys can get excited about what he does on the ball,” he continued. “Me and my coaching staff are a little bit more analytical – we’ll see other things that he doesn’t do quite so well. There’s plenty of time for him to develop and it’s important not to put too much pressure on the boy.”
Around 24 hours later, not only was Doak starting against Poland but setting up McGinn for the opener and turning in another blistering display in a second consecutive Nations League win. After which Clarke actually said he should have taken the little man off sooner than he did in the second half, when asked if he was glad he didn’t swing the axe.
It’s actually reaching the stage where Doak would be perfectly entitled if he chapped on the manager’s door at the start of the next camp and asked: ‘Is there any chance you can get off my case this time boss?’ And yet, Clarke will be convinced that he’s doing all of this to help the development of a player who looks more and more like the real deal. So Steve, in the unlikely event that you’re reading this, it might be better to look away now.
Because, while he might be yanking on the handbrake again, the truth of the matter is the excitement around the thought of having Doak and Billy Gilmour together in the same team for the next decade or so is impossible for the rest of us to contain. Come to think of it, the last time we saw a youngster with this kind of natural sporting gift he was walking out onto Wimbledon’s centre court, with big hair and skinny legs.
That’s the thing about Andy Murray. He may have gone one to earn his status as Scotland’s greatest ever sportsman but his timing has always stunk the place out.
His big breakthrough came at a time when three of the greatest players ever to pick up a tennis racquet were fighting it out for every major going. And yet he still eclipsed them to become the best in the world, no matter how fleeting it lasted before his body broke down under the strain of carrying him there.
And now? Well Murray must be looking over a shoulder and wondering if his greatest of all time status might be in danger of coming under threat already. Clarke would blow a gasket at the very suggestion of course. But, in terms of natural talent, Doak and Gilmour do appear to be blessed with something very special indeed.
Like Murray, they now have to make the most of what they have been given. If they put in the same kind of hours and progress with the same level of dedication, then they too could be destined for the very top of their own trade. Clarke will consider it his job to make sure of it. But it’s our job to enjoy watching the journey. And yes, to get excited about where exactly it may take both of these young men as well as our national side for as long as they are in it.
Gilmour is now aged 23 and is some four years further down the development road than Doak, who left Liverpool on loan to Middlesbrough in the summer and is only just starting out in his first full season as a top team regular.
There are likely to be crossroads ahead which is probably why Clarke has repeatedly called for caution.
It was not all that long ago, for example, that Gilmour found himself stuck on a bench at Norwich, watching lesser players take his position while his own progression stalled. There may have been moments when he wondered if he was really cut out for the top level in the first place.
The same doubt could creep into Doak’s mind if, for example, new Liverpool boss Arne Slot doesn’t love bomb him in the same manner that Jurgen Klopp did. Klopp had him earmarked as Mo Salah’s long term replacement – which is why the German was so reluctant to farm him out for experience elsewhere – but Slot has taken a different approach already.
If he doesn’t see Doak in his long term plans then the teenager may have to plot an alternative route to the top. But that’s all something for another day. Perhaps Clarke has the foresight to see it all coming. But for now the rest of us should enjoy what’s blossoming right there in front of our very eyes.
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