Steve Clarke reveals how Bristol City star Tommy Conway has adapted to life in the Scotland camp

Steve Clarke claims Tommy Conway has made a seamless transition from the Under-21s into the senior Scotland camp and believes the Bristol City striker offers the Tartan Army something different in attack, as he finalises his squad for Euro 2024.

Conway joined the group on Tuesday having received his call-up after the U21s defeat to Turkey on Monday evening, having scored a header in Istanbul. With Lyndon Dykes and Ben Doak ruled out of the European Championships due to injury, Conway and New York Red Bulls forward Lewis Morgan have been brought in to reinforce Clarke’s attacking options and bring numbers back up to 28.

It’s a sizeable step up for the Taunton-born frontman but having trained with the senior squad last summer on a training camp in Spain he’s familiar with many of the individuals in the squad, plus has City teammate Ross McCrorie by his side.

Conway has effectively replaced Dykes, a taller, more conventional No9, and offers a different threat to the QPR forward, providing pace, penalty box instincts and a willingness to run in behind, attributes which excite and intrigue Clarke.

“It’s as if he’s never been away,” Clarke said. “He was with us last summer so the lads know him, Tommy’s been good around the group. Another decent season, a good season for Bristol City, good with the 21s, somebody I’ve been watching, I know Tommy quite well to be honest and I thought he was a good one to bring in.

“He’s slightly different to the type of forward that we’ve got, in that Tommy will try and get off the back of defenders a little bit more than facing up the play, so I’m interested to see how he fits in and how we can use him.”

Clarke has to trim his group to 26 by tomorrow, while Scotland host Finland in their final warm-up friendly at Hampden Park. The Scotland manager admitted he’s made his decision as to who will be left out of the travelling party to Germany, but is yet to have the conversations with the two individuals in question.

Understandably he was giving little away in his pre-match press conference but Conway seems to be right in contention to book his seat on the plane as he’s one of just four attacking players alongside Morgan, Southampton’s Che Adams and Lawrence Shankland of Hearts.

“If I don’t bring in Tommy and Lewis, we’re going with two forward players, maybe three if you include James Forrest but I include James as a midfield player,” Clarke added. “So you’re going with Che and Lawrence up front, so for me it’s pretty clear we had to bring in two more attacking players.

“Lewis has been in my squads before when he was here; I know the player, I know the character, I know the person, which is always a help. And then you keep an eye on them and what’s your next option, what’s your next best option and Lewis and Tommy were the obvious candidates.”

Friday’s starting XI against Finland will be a “mix and match” team, closer to Clarke’s idea of a first XI than the slightly experimental line-up that took to the field against Gibraltar on Monday. Certain players, such as Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay, are having to be held back for now due to a lack of training time.

Whether or not Conway starts is unclear but it seems likely he’ll win his first cap in some capacity, less than two years after debuting for the U21s. There is a confidence within the national team set-up that the City forward, who’s been a regular for the Robins over the last two-and-a-half campaigns, making 87 appearances, can make the step-up. That’s based on his experience at club level, impressive for his age, but also his finishing prowess in training.

“Tommy is a player with really high potential but he’s reached that point now where it’s no longer about potential, it’s actually about delivering,” U21 head coach Scott Gemmill told the Daily Record. “That’s the challenge he faces after being called into the full squad. But what he’s shown is that he’s worthy of the opportunity.

“If you check his CV he’s played 39 games this year and 30 odd the year before at a very good level in the Championship. He had a couple of seasons prior to that when he was in and around the first team when he was really young.

“So the pathway and the progression has been there over a sustained period. With us, he’s played seven games and scored three goals. During that time - in the games and in training - he’s really impressed with his level of finishing.

“Of course, all the young players are decent and they are all improving but Tommy’s finishing has made him a standout from the moment he first joined us. He has all different types of finishes and, most importantly, he picks the right type of finish for the right moment. So not only is his finishing impressive but so too is his decision making.”

That decision-making has been honed over his time with the Robins where he’s very quickly become an established Championship player, netting double-figures in goals for a second straight season.

Conway was once again named among the 21 best U21s in the Football League by respected EFL podcast NotTheTop20, and his reputation is growing far beyond BS3, without even delving into the transfer speculation around him as he enters the final 12 months of his contract.

Gemmill claims the way he played against Turkish talent Ahmetcan Kaplan on Monday night, and the amount of work he gets through in a game, outlines his level is far beyond the international youth stage.

“These days the data we get back from the support staff is through the roof,” Gemmill added. “And Tommy’s data - in terms of total distance covered, high speed running, acceleration and max speed - is very impressive when compared to other players of his age. There is no place to hide for the young players in that regard but Tommy’s numbers really stack up. That shows me he has the physical capacity to do it.

“We played Turkey on Monday night and Tommy was up against an Ajax defender worth 5m euros. So the level of competition he’s been playing against is really high and he’s competing with them physically. He’s used to playing against that kind of defender at club level.

“Some of our players are not used to it because there’s a wide range of levels within our squad. But Tommy has been doing it regularly over a period of time. He has that mix of ambition, attitude and confidence where he is not fazed by it in the slightest.“

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