Ross County defender Harry Clarke’s absence against St Mirren could present Malky Mackay with an unexpected selection dilemma.
Clarke will serve a one-match suspension against the Buddies, after receiving a much-disputed second booking in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Dundee United.
It is no exaggeration to say Clarke’s absence will leave Mackay without one of his standout performers from the campaign so far, creating a void at right back.
As well as having to fill the position itself, Mackay will also have to find ways of compensating for the loss of one of his key outlets going forward.
Clarke’s attacking statistics from full back make for impressive reading.
The on-loan Arsenal defender has emerged as a strong goal threat, netting three times from 10 starts.
He has made a further two appearances from the bench, playing a total of 969 minutes for the Dingwall men.
During that time he has supplied 18 crosses from open play, attempting 22 dribbles.
His willingness to support County’s attack has made him a productive line of supply for his team-mates, creating seven chances and providing two assists.
The graph below illustrates where these have come from, with both assists (for Alex Iacovitti’s goal against St Mirren on October 16 and Regan Charles-Cook’s goal against Dundee on October 27) coming from bursts down the right flank.
Although he was initially drafted in as a central defender during the summer, Clarke’s worth to the Staggies’ attacking unit has convinced Mackay to keep him at full back.
That has meant Connor Randall – a natural right back – has played the last four matches at left back since his return from injury.
Returning Vokins could provide intriguing option
Mackay has spoken in recent weeks of his satisfaction at having a fully fit squad available. In this case, the Staggies boss has more than one option to cover for Clarke’s absence.
Despite being made club captain during the summer, Keith Watson has found game time hard to come by, with only five starts and a further five substitute appearances.
As one of the Staggies’ longest-serving players, the vastly-experienced Watson provides known and reliable cover. Although he is a solid defensive option, Watson is unlikely to offer the same attacking guile provided by Clarke in recent weeks.
An intriguing alternative bound to tempt Mackay is also the possibility of moving Randall back to his usual right back slot. That would pave the way for Jake Vokins to be introduced into the left back role for which he was signed during the summer.
Vokins played two Premier Sports Cup ties against Brora Rangers and Montrose before suffering a metatarsal fracture on the eve of the Premiership season. Although the on-loan Southampton defender has returned to full fitness in recent weeks, he has yet to make a league outing.
The 21-year-old gained some first experience on loan at Sunderland last season, with the former England under-19 international having previously made two Premier League appearances for Southampton.
It has been difficult for Staggies fans to draw any conclusive judgment on Vokins from his brief outings so far, however he drew praise from Mackay after setting up Alex Iacovitti’s winner on his debut against Brora in July.
Following the 1-0 victory at Dudgeon Park, Mackay said of Vokins: “He has a lovely left foot and we saw a couple of times with the ball fired to him from 50 yards, it just gets brought down beautifully.
“He’s a young player. He has lots to learn, but he has shown a great willingness.
“He has been schooled very well at Southampton’s academy, obviously.”
Although the test awaiting Vokins on his return will be a far sterner one, his desire to provide attacking support was a stand-out from his early Staggies displays.
Should he provide a similar level of threat on the left-hand side of the park to that shown by Clarke down the opposite channel, Mackay will have some difficult decisions to make during the busy upcoming spell of games.
