Clarke dropping Celtic players suits us now. He won’t drag them down with him.

Some stories catch fire, and others simply don’t. I’m not talking about blogging here; I mean stories in general. When I say “hit,” I mean they have an impact—enough to spark discussion, debate, even arguments. Usually, when the Scotland team gets announced and key Celtic players are omitted, there’s a noticeable reaction.

But yesterday’s squad announcement—where Luke McCowan was overlooked, and James Forrest was dropped entirely—barely raised an eyebrow among Celtic fans. In fact, it provoked almost no discussion at all.

That’s an ominous sign for the national coach.

It suggests that Celtic fans no longer care whether he picks our players or what logic, if any, underpins his choices. He seemed to take a jab at Forrest for pulling out of the last squad due to injury, but if that was his intention, it’s absurd. Forrest was barely given a chance anyway. He was included in the squad only to warm the bench, which is an insult to a player of his calibre. If a player is merely there for show, why not leave him out entirely?

Seeing Connor Barron included while Luke McCowan was ignored hasn’t stirred much discussion either. And frankly, I feel the same way about the national coach as many Ibrox fans feel about Philippe Clement: you’re waiting for the inevitable collapse.

You’re waiting for a defeat—or a string of defeats—so glaring that not even the SFA can justify keeping him in the job a moment longer. It’s bound to come.

This winless run can’t last forever, and it’s far more likely to end with the defeat that finishes him off than with the victory that sets things right.

International football, at the moment, feels like a tiresome inconvenience that only disrupts the real business we care about.

There’s no such thing as an “ideal” time for an international break. If your club just lost, a two-week wait to move on is painful; if they’re on a winning streak, you want it to continue uninterrupted. The one recent exception was after the Dortmund game when we could have used the time to shake off the post-match lag, though a late win at Ross County lifted morale. That’s about as close as I’ve come to welcoming an international break in recent memory.

Most Celtic fans simply don’t care about the national team anymore. Even among those of us who still have some interest, it’s hard to feel invested in this particular Scotland squad, led by this particular coach.

His decisions often seem guided by narrative rather than merit, and his treatment of certain Celtic players has been nothing short of disrespectful. It’s not exactly designed to win our support, and we’re the only real allies he’s got.

Ibrox fans already dislike him and couldn’t care less about Scotland’s fortunes. Celtic fans should be his biggest supporters, his most vocal defenders—but he’s given us no reason to be. He hasn’t supported our players, and he certainly doesn’t inspire confidence. It’s bad enough to be failing; it’s worse to fail arrogantly, stubbornly clinging on while things deteriorate. But to do so while leaving some of your best players on the sidelines? That’s beyond the pale.

Forrest could have made a huge impact at the Euros. He played a vital role in Celtic’s league and cup runs last season, showing he could handle high-stakes games.

Yet Clarke did everything but play him, fielding every other option he could think of instead. Forrest didn’t travel to the Euros expecting a token role as part of the squad—he surely anticipated getting at least a few minutes on the pitch in one of those matches. The way he was treated was disgraceful and, given what was at stake, downright incomprehensible.

Scotland fell short in that competition, and everyone could see it coming.

We know now that Clarke isn’t up to the task. The SFA should have stepped in and made the necessary changes. Instead, we’re stuck in a kind of purgatory, much like the situation facing the club from Ibrox and its fans. It’s unacceptable.

And honestly, I’m relieved that James Forrest and Luke McCowan aren’t part of it this time—they won’t be dragged down by it or scapegoated when it inevitably implodes.