Michael Stewart wants Steve Clarke to convert Ryan Christie into an international striker!
Christie was a late substitute against Russia on Thursday night with Scotland’s striking options reduced to Oli Burke and Lawrence Shankland with Oli McBurnie calling off injured.
A year ago the former Inverness Caley Thistle prospect was getting occasional run-outs as a striker at Celtic without making any impact as his initial contract ran down.
Injuries to Scott Brown, Olivier Ntcham and Eboue Kouassi saw Christie pitched into midfield in the Betfred Cup semi-final against Hearts as his career encountered an incredible u-turn.
The 24-year-old has been a key midfielder for Brendan Rodgers and Neil Lennon but with things increasingly desperate for Clarke Stewart has an unusual suggestion.
He told The Sun:
He (Clarke) will be contemplating his problems and looking for solutions — and I would try Celtic star Ryan Christie in the striking role. Ideally, Griffiths would be fit and scoring by March. Fletcher would also be available for selection. Having those two would be a huge boost for Clarke but, as things stand, there is no guarantee it will happen.
Naismith was flying at the start of this campaign and he can still offer a lot, but he’s had a lot of injury problems. For the Cyprus game I would try Christie as the focal point of the attack. He is in such good form and has so much energy that you can’t possibly leave him out the team.
Midfield is a strong area no matter who plays, so I would get Christie up there as a No9 with freedom to roam. If you get the pace of James Forrest and Ryan Fraser either side of him, it would pose a different threat. Maybe it will work, maybe it won’t — but it would be the LAST chance  to even try these things.
Scotland face San Marino at Hampden tomorrow with a crowd of less than 20,000 expected at the match.