Armstrong points to greater strength in depth
STUART ARMSTRONG believes the Scotland squad is the strongest it has been since he made his international debut five years ago and is well placed to cope with back-to-back away games in the Nations League.
Armstrong helped the national team to record a 2-0 win over Armenia at Hampden on Wednesday night and bounce back from their devastating Qatar 2022 play-off semi-final defeat to Ukraine last week.
Steve Clarke’s side eased to a comfortable 2-0 triumph in their opening Group B1 match thanks to first-half goals from Anthony Ralston and Scott McKenna.
Scotland now face difficult away games against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin tomorrow and Armenia in Yerevan on Tuesday in a competition that offers them an alternative route through to the Euro 2024 finals in Germany via the play-offs.
But Clarke rested Liam Cooper, Grant Hanley and Billy Gilmour, handed starts to Armstrong, Ryan Christie, Jack Hendry, Scott
McKenna, Anthony Ralston and John Souttar and gave game time to Aaron Hickey, Jacob Brown, Nathan Patterson, Scott McTominay and Ross Stewart in midweek.
And Armstrong, who will be hoping to feature from kick-off in the Aviva Stadium after acquitting himself well in midweek, is confident that his manager has the strength in depth which he needs to negotiate the forthcoming fixtures successfully.
“The next week is busy for us,” said the 34-times capped midfielder. “We have a tight turnaround for Saturday, a lot of recovery and not too much preparation time. Three fixtures in a week is a lot. But I think throughout the squad there is a lot of depth there and obviously boys who are used to playing a lot of games in a short space of time.
“The squad depth is great, probably the best I have ever seen. A lot of individuals are now excelling at their own club. That is all the better for the country. When you want to freshen up the team, which you have to when the fixtures are so tight, the quality of the team doesn’t weaken. That is a great thing. We have another two fixtures to look forward to and the rotation of the squad is very important.”