I’D GO TO ELLAND BACK FOR A CAP
Cooper is a first pick at Leeds... but he’ll take whatever he can get as part of Clarke’s squad
MARCELO BIELSA is recognised as one of world football’s biggest and brightest brains. So if he trusts Liam Cooper with the captain’s armband at Leeds, it’s fair to assume he thinks the centreback is a player. Yet Cooper can’t pin down a regular starting slot in Scotland’s three-man defence thanks, in the main, to Kieran Tierney’s excellence on the left and Grant Hanley’s rock-solid displays in the heart of a trio that will probably see Jack Hendry perform on the right against Israel tomorrow. Hanley’s suspension, however, has opened up a vacancy and 30-year-old Cooper may well earn his 10th cap against a side he admits he’s seen more of than any other in international football. One of those meetings was that nerve-shredding Euro play-off semi-final when the Elland Road man produced arguably his best display in a dark blue shirt as Scotland won a penalty shoot-out after a goalless 120 minutes.
It’s the same opposition but with World Cup qualification on the horizon.
And the Hull-born defender – his grandfather hails from Bo’ness – is desperate to play his part, having sampled the Euros with an appearance in the first match against the Czech Republic.
He said: “Every time I pull the shirt on, it is an honour for me and my family.
“I am sure my grandad would have been very proud of me. I want to get as many caps as I can.
“I will keep working and pushing hard to get them.
“It [the Euros] was unbelievable. We have had a taste of it now. It’s there. We want to go and play in the biggest tournament in the world. We have another big chance with a massive game at home.”
Hampden is sold out and Cooper is convinced that’s a sign of the Tartan Army’s belief in the squad.
He said: “I think that is the proof in the pudding of what we are doing.
“It is the first time in a long time we’ve managed to sell Hampden out and that speaks volumes about what the lads and what everyone at Scotland has done to get to this point.
“We have to pay back this loyalty.
“We have to generate that excitement. Winning matches and getting to tournaments brings the fans, 100 per cent.
“They want to see good football and be part of major tournaments. That’s down to us on the pitch to bring that to the nation.
“We have to go and put a big performance on, try to get out of this group, get to a play-off and hopefully another tournament.
“It is great to be part of. It shows how far we have come as a group in the last few years. That’s where we want to be, with the Tartan Army right behind us.
“That’s what it is all about. That’s what we set out to do at the start of the campaign and hopefully we can do that.”
Naturally Cooper hopes to play in Hanley’s absence.
But if he doesn’t, he’s mature enough to accept it and continue to play his part off the pitch.
He added: “Grant’s a big miss for us but it gives someone else an opportunity, whether that’s myself or somebody else.
“We’re all chomping at the bit to play and do our country proud.
“And whoever goes in will be ready and bang up for the game.”