MALKY Mackay could be set to play West Brom winger Matt Phillips up front when Scotland take on the Netherlands in a friendly at Pittodrie on Thursday night.

Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths has been forced to withdraw from the national squad after suffering a recurrence of a calf injury in the Champions League game against Bayern Munich last week.

That has left Mackay, who has taken charge of his country on a temporary basis following the departure of Gordon Strachan last month, with just two forwards, Ryan Christie and Jason Cummings.

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Both Christie, who is on loan at Aberdeen from Celtic, and Cummings, who moved from Hibernian to Nottingham Forest in the summer, are uncapped at international level.

And Mackay, the SFA performance director who has refused to rule himself out of the running for the vacant Scotland position, could move Phillips or James Forrest of Celtic from their natural positions out wide into attack.

“I could play someone different,” he said. “Matt Phillips can play through the middle. James Forrest has played there in an emergency. Ryan Christie has played there in an off position.

“I am looking whether a Matt Phillips, who has played in that position for West Brom, can play there, whether James Forrest and Ryan Christie can play in a false position or Cummings can play there. So that is what I am looking at in the next few days.”

Mackay believes Cummings, who has scored four goals in 14 appearances for Forest this sea-son, can feature regularly for Scotland in the future and be a big part of their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.

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However, the former Watford, Cardiff City and Wigan Athletic manager believes the 22-year-old has to be a first team starter at the English Championship club before he can feature for his country.

“He’s now at the next step of his career down in Nottingham,” he said. “He’s got to become a regular there. That’s the next step for him, stepping up into the Championship, which is a tough, tough league, really resilient. He’s got to make sure that he ends up becoming a starter for Mark Warburton.”

Meanwhile, Mackay, who has also lost Darren Fletcher for the Netherlands match due to a groin injury, has defended his decision not to call up replacements for the experienced West Brom midfielder or Griffiths.

He didn’t name Steven Fletcher, Chris Martin or Steven Naismith in his initial 24 man squad, but was unprepared to draft any member of that trio into the set-up at late notice.

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“Looking at what I was going to start with, I would be asking people to come and sit on the bench and they might not get on,” he said. “I have to weigh it up.

“Over a five day camp for a friendly on an interim basis, do I want to do that? If I did that do they really want to be here? That is what I had to look at.

“To then pick 26 or 27 players and have seven sitting in the stand at Aberdeen on a Thursday night for a friendly is not good. It is not good for the squad either when six or seven are thinking they should be playing and they are not.

“I think this is a time when less is more, but the less being some of the ones who are being given a chance and who are desperate to win caps.”