CHERRY ON THE CAKE

Ryans reinvention at Bournemouth makes him an even more important player for Scots boss Clarke

- Craig Swan

RYAN CHRISTIE and the Euros will forever be entwined.

The Bournemouth star's goal in Belgrade was the one that ended Scotland's painful wait for a return to a major tournament.

David Marshall saved the shoot-out penalty and got most attention afterwards, yet it was Christie's strike that set it all up and saw Steve Clarke lead the nation into battle against the continent's elite at the last one.

Fast forward almost four years and the former Inverness, Aberdeen and Celtic man still has a key role to play.

But his growing ability to offer a very different and handy option feels like just what any national coach wants when they build a squad for a tournament.

Going into the double-header over the next nine days against Holland and Northern Ireland, Clarke is fast drawing up plans.

You can be almost sure he has an inkling of a starting line-up in his head already for the Euros opener against Germany and is working his way backwards from scribbling out that team sheet in Munich. Clarke admits whittling his squad down to 23 for the Finals will be a brutal business and, for any player, having more than one string to your bow isn't a bad trait.

Christie's reinvention at club level offers an ideal example.