Scotland, eventually, got over the line against Georgia with Rangers pair Ryan Jack and John Souttar playing their part.
The current Ibrox stars weren’t the only players to have a connection to the Light Blues though and with a bit more digging, almost every one of the 16 who took to the pitch had a link – except for the obvious ones.
Scotland has always had a core of Rangers players at its heart and Ryan Jack and John Souttar could well be about to join a long list of those that have played at a major tournament.
But for fitness issues, both players would probably have played more minutes over the last two games.
Souttar, in particular, has impressed for Scotland in the past and is an immediate upgrade on both Jack Hendry and Ryan Porteous.
Who could have joined Rangers duo Ryan Jack and John Souttar for Scotland?
When looking at the rest of the team though, if transfer speculation is to be believed, there could have been a lot more representing the club.
Angus Gunn was an early front runner to replace Allan McGregor, with no goals conceded from open play in his first four caps, he’s made international football look easy so far.
In defence, Aaron Hickey was said to be a possible target under Steven Gerrard but we were well stocked for full-backs at the time.
A £14m transfer to Brentford from Bologna suggests that maybe we should have pushed the boat out a little further.
Ryan Porteous was mentioned in January as a potential option given his contract status at Hibs, however, a move to Watford and away from the SPFL is probably the best decision that he could have made.
Alongside him, Jack Hendry, post-Celtic was briefly mentioned during Gerrard’s tenure as he looked for a centre-half to partner Connor Goldson with more ability on the ball.
We all know about Billy Gilmour, but Kenny McLean was also in the academy at Auchenhowie.
The Norwich City midfielder has been linked almost every summer since.
The loosest connection is Scott McTominay.
When he was out of the side at Man Utd, a possible loan move was suggested by Craig Moore but a transfer valuation of £50m suggests that he will be staying in the Premier League.
Lyndon Dykes has re-emerged as a reported target for Michael Beale, although his ability in possession just isn’t good enough for Rangers and it would be a surprise if this rumour is anything more than that.
Dykes was replaced by Kevin Nisbet, a player said to be at the heart of Gerrard’s decision to move on.
Even looking at the bench.
Liam Kelly was at Rangers, Zander Clark, Greg Taylor, Lewis Ferguson and Lawrence Shankland are all either known fans or players who have been mentioned when .
Rangers need more players developed in Scotland who can contribute to the first-team, that isn’t a secret.
Looking through this squad suggests that the club has been trying in recent years but, for whatever reason, they just haven’t pushed the button or paid the asking prices.
There maybe weren’t any current Rangers players starting for Steve Clarke last night but Ryan Jack and John Souttar could well be joined by more teammates in the future.
