Morgan earns his first call-up to Scots squad
Gaffer Ross says midfielder will make the most of opportunity
Lewis Morgan has crowned a title- winning season with his first- ever call- up to the Scotland national squad.
The attacking midfielder was a revelation for St Mirren throughout the campaign, with his sparkling form alerting Celtic to snap him up in January.
The 21- year- old remained at the Paisley side during the second half of last season, with his form never wavering throughout.
He will travel to South America with Alex McLeish’s side for their upcoming end-of-season friendlies against Peru and Mexico.
And Saints’ boss Jack Ross insists he is delighted to see the former Buddies star being drafted into the squad.
Ross said: “It’s brilliant that Lewis has been called up. He deserves it in terms of his ability.
“He’s good enough to do it and he’ll use it as an opportunity to show that he should be included in squads for more meaningful matches in the future.
“He’s a terrific young man, has a brilliant temperament, a really good mindset and he is a top player
“I felt he had the raw materials but at different stages over the last year and a half, psychologically he’s improved.
“In our last home game when he scored the winner against Morton, he jumped the hoardings and got booked for his celebration in front of their fans.
“He would never have done that six or nine months ago.
“Now people would say that’s not a great example but I think it’s alright because he never did anything bad. He just held his arms out.
“It was just to say ‘I’ve taken a bit of stick’ and he gave some back.”
Morgan is joined by fellow former St Mirren stars Kenny McLean and John McGinn, now of Norwich City and Hibs, as the Paisley side continue their fine tradition of producing top-class footballers.
The departure of Morgan this summer is sure to leave a void which will be difficult for the Buddies to fill... a fact not lost on the gaffer.
He added: “That shows he’s grown and he’s added, not a nasty streak, but you need something about you to keep going up the levels.
“He is smart and he understands what he needs to do to deal with what lies ahead.
“I’m building a squad for next season and I’m looking at the holes I need to fill and there’s one thing I’ve written on my board and it says ‘matchwinner’.
“That’s what he was for us and that’s not an easy thing to find.”