CALUM CROWE: It's time for Steve Clarke to be brave and ditch either Andy Robertson or Kieran Tierney

When Scotland head to Copenhagen next week for their opening World Cup qualifier against Denmark, Steve Clarke will be embarking on the final chapter of his time as manager.

Regardless of whether or not Scotland qualify for the showpiece tournament in America next summer, this will be the manager’s last hurrah. One final chance to lead the nation to our first World Cup since 1998.

For all that things have unravelled since the abysmal showing at Euro 2024, Clarke still has an opportunity to bow out on the ultimate high.

Taking Scotland to three major tournaments, including a World Cup, would represent a decent legacy and earn him a good send-off from the Tartan Army.

However, Scotland’s ability to qualify from a group containing the Danes, Greece and Belarus will hinge on Clarke showing bravery and ambition.

Armed with the most talented squad of players the country has had in a generation, he has to find a system that gets the most out of key men in midfield and forward areas.

That will almost certainly mean ditching the back-three system that was essentially created a few years ago in order to get Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson into the same team.

Blessed with two top-class left-backs, Clarke couldn’t leave either on the bench. He had to find a way of shoehorning them into the same team.

That is no longer the case. We should be past this constant clamouring and obsession to get both players into the side.

The reality is that Scotland’s squad has evolved and improved to the point where only one of Robertson and Tierney needs to play at left-back.

The talent available further up the pitch outweighs the need for the old system, which is now to the detriment of the quality elsewhere in the squad.

Especially now that Ben Gannon Doak is back fit and available, he really ought to be the first name on Clarke’s team-sheet.

But there is also John McGinn, Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour to consider in midfield. Lewis Ferguson and Ryan Christie would also add quality and goals.

That’s six players straight off the bat who should be the focus of Clarke’s attention, rather than persisting with the back-three system to accommodate both Tierney and Robertson.

This is where bravery comes into it. Ultimately, for the greater good of the team, the manager needs to be brave enough to drop one of them.

In the case of Robertson, that would be a huge call. Would Clarke drop his captain? A player who has served Scotland well, even if never quite replicating his form with Liverpool? It doesn’t feel like the type of thing Clarke would do.

If either of them were to be left out, it feels more likely to be Tierney. But this is where Clarke has a major problem on his hands.

Tierney has started the season well for Celtic since returning from Arsenal in the summer. Robertson, meanwhile, is on the bench at Liverpool.

He has fallen out of favour under Arne Slot, with Liverpool splashing out £40million to sign Hungarian international Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth.

Clarke is nothing if not incredibly stubborn and loyal to certain players. We’ve seen countless examples of that over the years.

However, if he does change the system and lets the handbrake off, the Robertson-Tierney conundrum really can’t continue. It’s one or the other.

Clarke was on a bit of a charm offensive over the weekend as he did a cosy, one-to-one interview with the BBC.

The questions from Kelly Cates were softball stuff. There was some guff from Clarke about how every Scotland player with whom he spoke after Euro 2024 thanked him for getting us there.

That’s the same sort of nonsense his assistant John Carver was coming out with before he left. Completely and utterly detached from reality.

When the serious stuff starts in Copenhagen next Friday night, Clarke would do himself a favour by cutting all of that out. Scotland fans don’t want to hear it.

They want a manager capable of finally showing some ambition and an ability to evolve and adapt. His legacy as manager depends on it.

It was telling that, in the final game of Euro 2024 against Hungary - which Scotland had to win in order to progress - he still refused to change things.

Even without Tierney, who had suffered a hamstring injury in the previous game against Switzerland, Clarke persisted with five at the back.

The whole point of that system was to accommodate two left-backs in the same team. Yet, even without one of them, he stuck with it.

Clarke should really have been relieved of his duties after those Euros. Yet here we are, at the dawn of a new campaign, praying that he can turn this around and eke out another few results.

Does he stick with Robertson even though he’s not playing for Liverpool? That still feels like the most likely option.

It would probably be harsh on Tierney, but that’s the kind of bold call Clarke needs to make. That’s why he’s paid the big bucks.

To borrow an old line from Highlander, there can be only one.