Kenny Miller scored 18 times in 69 appearances for Scotland and current manager Steve Clarke could do with having a peak version of the 40-year-old at his disposal for the Euro 2020 play-offs in March.

Finding someone to lead the line for the national team has been a problem ever since the enforced absence of Celtic’s Leigh Griffiths due to mental health issues but Partick Thistle’s Miller insists that his former strike partner Steven Naismith is Clarke’s best bet to see us through against Israel and then either Serbia nor Norway, assuming the 33-year-old can remain free of the injuries which have pock-marked his campaigns in recent years.

Naismith scored in the 3-1 win over Kazakhstan six weeks ago but he’s made just nine appearances for Hearts this season and hasn’t featured for them since going off at half-time during a 2-1 reverse at Hamilton on December 21. 

However, when asked who should be Scotland’s No.9, Miller backed him to lead the Tartan Army back to the big stage.

 “I think Steven Naismith – but a fully fit Steven Naismith,” he said.

"I was delighted to see Naisy get his 50th cap against Cyprus in November and to lead the team out on the day. It was well deserved. He’s been a fantastic servant for the country and a really good player. 

"Striker has been a problem position for Scotland but a fully-fit Naisy brings a bit of everything. 

“There is a cleverness to his play. He’s got the experience that Scotland need in and around the squad. He can hold the ball up, he works hard, he’s very strong in the air and he can pop up with a goal.

“ He unsettles defences but he also leads. He demands from his team-mates and he instructs them. He has a good effect on the players around him, for club and country. He brings the whole package. 

"So, for me, Naisy at his best brings a lot to the table.

“Leigh Griffiths would be another obvious option. If he was back at his best by March then he would be vying for that position.”

 Miller also likes what he’s seen of Dundee United’s Lawrence Shankland, although he doesn’t regard him as a fist choice just yet.

“Lawrence is coming through and he’s having a fantastic season,” he said. “He can only learn and get better from being involved with two squads with Scotland so far. The level of player around him – and not just the strikers - will help him improve as a player and help him get to where he wants to go.

“There’s no doubt that if he keeps performing at the level he has done then he can go on and do well for Scotland because I believe there’s more to him than just his goals. 

"When you know what you’re talking about you can see it and I saw in his first four or five touches against Russia; they were really assured and clever. He was putting himself in the right positions to help his team get up the pitch.

‘Then the wheels fell off for the team in the last half- hour of that match and Lawrence wasn’t seen much as an attacking force but you could see good wee signs in his game. Just like Kris Boyd, a lot of people look at Lawrence’s goals and that’s all they see.

“Putting the ball in the back of the net is the most important thing but there’s more to him than that. He’ll develop as long as he’s open to learning and improving.”

Sheffield United’s £20m target man Oli McBurnie is another possibility but Miller believes that Naismith would be ahead of him.

“I personally think Naisy is the best suited but he has to be playing regularly,” he said. “I know what Naisy brings to the team. 

"I’ve played with him for Rangers and Scotland and he would be in my team every day of the week. 

"That’s not an old pals’ act, either; it’s me looking at the big picture and what’s best for the country and what’s required for the role.”