SCOTLAND boss Steve Clarke praised Saints forward Che Adams for showing the "confidence" needed in international football following his goal in yesterday's 2-0 win over Gibraltar.

Adams, who is out of contract this summer, is hoping to start at this month's European Championships and he delivered a timely reminder of his quality in the Algarve.

Hearts forward Lawrence Shankland was preferred to Adams in attack but the Saints man made his mark after coming off the bench.

Adams fired a fine volley past the Gibraltar goalkeeper after being set up by Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn.

Speaking to BBC Scotland, Clarke insisted: "When it comes to Che Adams - bang, goal. That's the kind of confidence you need to show at this level.

"What we learned is that we can create chances and we just need to find the final finish. We need to work on it in training and their confidence in terms of finishing."

Queens Park Rangers' Lyndon Dykes has been ruled out of the tournament after suffering an injury in training, which now leaves an opportunity for someone to stake their claim upfront.

Another out-of-contract Saints man Stuart Armstrong may return for Friday's final warm-up game against Finland at Hampden Park, Clarke confirmed at his pre-match press conference.

He said: "Stuart Armstrong, Scott McTominay, and John Souttar won’t play this game but I am pretty confident they will all be good for the next game.

"Some of them maybe didn’t get the minutes they wanted towards the end of the club season so hopefully we can give them some that get them up to speed for the tournament itself.”

Scotland kick off EURO 2024 against tournament hosts Germany on Friday, June 14.