Scotland boss Gordon Strachan couldn’t have failed to have been impressed by Zander Clark’s performance for St Johnstone at the weekend, according to his club manager.
And Tommy Wright believes a call-up for his country will be on the cards if his young keeper continues his outstanding progress at McDiarmid Park.
Clark has now played in the Premiership eight times for the Perth side and won all eight matches.
He has barely made a mistake in that time but he saved arguably his best performance for Saturday’s 1-0 defeat of Hearts, with Strachan sitting in the Main Stand.
“I don’t think there is anyone better among the next generation of young Scottish goalkeepers,” said Wright. “He has got all the attributes to go higher in the game.
“I’m not trying to put pressure on Zander or Gordon but look at what Zander has done since he came into the side towards the end of last season.
“We have been unbeaten and he has had a few clean sheets. He made important saves when he was exposed on a couple of occasions in the first half against Hearts.
“He is a big lad, he stood up and made wonderful stops. He kicked the ball well and controlled his box nicely. Zander is also very good with the ball at his feet.
“If he continues in this vein of form he has to be knocking on the Scotland squad door. It’s not just based on one game.
“His timing was good to turn on a display like that with the international manager looking on but I’m sure Gordon has known all about Zander anyway. But he will have gone away from the game thinking this is someone to keep an eye on.”
Alan Mannus had been in excellent form himself in the early weeks of the season before illness gave Clark his chance.
The battle for the gloves at McDiarmid Park will be intense for the rest of the campaign.
“The unluckiest lad in all this is Alan Mannus,” Wright added. “He didn’t miss the last two games because of loss of form. He was man of the match at Inverness and started the season very well.
“He only lost his place because he took ill and Zander came in and did very well. If I had any concerns about Zander Alan would have been back in. I genuinely do have two number one keepers here.
“But I have to be fair to them both. The time was right for Zander whereas maybe it wasn’t nine months ago.
“The harsh reality for both of them is that if they play well they stay in the team. They both know where they stand.”
Wright has a right back dilemma for Thursday’s BetFred Cup quarter final at Aberdeen, with Richard Foster cup-tied and Keith Watson not expected to return to training until later in the week.
“We are a bit light but we have one or two options there,” he said.
“We had 16-year-old Cammy Thomson on the bench with another teenager Aaron Comrie against Hearts.
“If Ally Gilchrist and Liam Gordon (who were ill last week) had been further down the line one might have gone into centre back and Joe Shaughnessy could have moved to right back. But I am reluctant to break up the partnership between Joe and Ando because they have been playing well.
“David Wotherspoon has played right back at Aberdeen before and Blair Alston is another option.”
Chris Millar missed Saturday’s game after picking up a knock in training. He is expected to be available at Pittodrie, as is Danny Swanson.
