IT’S YOUR TIME
McLeish urges new faces to seize chance
ALEX McLEISH has challenged Scotland’s newcomers to show they have the quality needed to keep some veteran names out of future squads.
The new manager yesterday kicked off his second spell in charge of the national side by including six new call-ups for the friendlies against Costa Rica and Hungary.
Hibs midfielder Dylan McGeouch joined Scott McTominay, Oli McBurnie, Barry Douglas, Scott McKenna and Jon McLaughlin in a 27-man pool.
That meant no places for a number of past regulars including Robert Snodgrass, James McArthur, Darren Fletcher, Ikechi Anya and Chris Martin.
McLeish insists he has not closed the door on any player and that experience will have a part to play once Scotland move into competitive action in September.
But he wants the fresh faces to use the next two games to prove they can help
drive forward a new era for the national side. ‘That’s the challenge,’ said McLeish. ‘That’s what we are looking for — top-level performances. ‘It’s the same if you have a big squad and you’re playing in the Premier League — and then you go into a cup tie and you change the whole squad and play the other guys. ‘On paper, they look fantastic. But they have not had any rhythm of playing together and you wonder why they struggled. Even though they train every day together, we have to try and gel this bunch of guys. ‘If they show spectacular form in the upcoming internationals and they surprise us like nothing we expected then, of course, it will be hard for others to get in. Hopefully, it creates that competitive atmosphere.’ McLeish delayed his squad announcement to watch the weekend derbies and was again impressed by McGeouch’s display in the 2-0 win over Hearts at Easter Road. Asked whether he would have named the same squad if this was a qualifier, McLeish added: ‘I think it would be pretty close. I’ve got to be honest. I believe that those guys are playing to a pretty good level for their clubs. ‘They deserve to be in there with a shout. The next challenge for them is to bring that form to the national team and get more confidence from the fact that they’re in this circle, the top level of football. ‘A lot of them have done it already. There’s a few playing at European level and there are one or two who have got to show myself that they can step up.’ Meanwhile, the SFA have confirmed Scotland will face Belgium — currently ranked fifth in the world — in a Hampden friendly on Friday, September 7. The match against Eden Hazard, Kevin de Bruyne and the rest of a star-studded squad will complete McLeish’s preparations for the Nations League opener against Albania three days later.