A return to Scots set-up is the dream for Watt
THERE’S a pretty simple reason why football managers — 12 of them at last count — are prepared to place their trust in Tony Watt.
No matter what narrative may have grown around the 26-year-old as he’s moved from club to club across five different countries, what’s never been in doubt is his raw talent.
Blessed with pace and the ability to send ice coursing through his veins when put within sight of goal, when mentally and physically attuned he remains a formidable proposition.
Not every manager he has worked with has been a paid-up member of his fan club, of course. But in Stephen Robinson at Motherwell, the striker has someone who knows his foibles and has his back.
While delivering regularly for the Steelmen in the Premiership is plainly the forward’s overriding priority come August, he knows that talk of a return to the international fold will assuredly follow if that box is first ticked.
A late substitute appearance in a friendly win over the Czech Republic four years ago remains the sum total of his Scotland experience to date. It’s a meagre return for his talent.
He owes it to himself to add to that solitary cap and hopes to do just that once he’s hopefully taken some purposeful strides with his club at the start of the new season.
‘I have played and trained with the Scotland squad and I know what level I’m at,’ said Watt. ‘It’s about playing well and showing what I can do.
‘I’m sure if I am performing then that door will be open.
‘Big Dec (Declan Gallagher) shows if you do well at Motherwell you’ll get a call up. To be fair, I’ve never had an eye on the future, it’s not in my personality, but it’s always a dream to play for your country and become a better player.
‘It’s a big year for the Scotland team. Everything is going to be rushed a bit with more games and this Covid situation.
‘There’s a good squad and a lot of players are coming in to their prime. There are lot of Premier League players and guys linked with big moves. It can only be good for the national team.’
Potentially, on an individual basis, this could be a very good year for Watt.
Back in his native Lanarkshire, his many travels have given him a fresh appreciation of home.
Motherwell will doubtless face a stiff challenge for the third place they secured last season but you’d still fancy Robinson’s men to be at least jousting in the top half of the league throughout the campaign.
Europe, too, brings a welcome dimension. Watt experienced the Europa League with CSKA Sofia last year and it was the most fulfilling aspect of his short spell in Bulgaria.
‘Playing in Europe is something you dream about doing,’ he added. ‘That’s the reason I went to CSKA as well. We experienced some good nights over there.
‘We went to Croatia, Ukraine and I think Macedonia last year. It was good to play against teams like that and get good memories.
‘We beat Osijek over two legs. Most of us probably didn’t know about Osijek until (Borna) Barisic and (Eros) Grezda came over here, but you could see they are a top team.
‘Going over and beating them was amazing. There are a lot of teams in Europe we probably don’t know about who are huge clubs in their own country. It’s a good experience to do that.
‘Hopefully I can have many more nights like that.’
He’s content for such memorable occasions to punctuate Motherwell’s season. Bluntly, after such a nomadic lifestyle, he’s just happy to feast on the bread and butter of Scottish football.
Watt won’t divulge names but admits that his experiences on his travels at times made him long for a simpler life in a more familiar environment.
‘I don’t want to name the club but we’d have an international break and you’d finish the game on Saturday and they’d go: “Right — have Sunday off”.
‘We come in on Monday and they’d say, by the way, you are coming in Tuesday, Wednesday, doing a double session there, sleeping at the club then reporting at 8am to go up the mountains for four days for a training camp, away for your wives, girlfriends, families, whatever.
‘You’re thinking... are we not meant to get a break? And you are stuck up in the mountains doing double sessions away from your family.’
Set against that, going through the rigours of pre-season training under Robinson’s eye is almost a joy in comparison.
He’s just glad to be back. The Scottish weather aside, he wouldn’t change anything he now has.
‘Going over to Bulgaria and it was sunny every day,’ said Watt.
‘You are training in 35-degree heat sometimes and you come here and look out just now and it’s grey some days.
‘The best part is... it is hard to put it in words, but it is when you come into training and you just get hit with a putdown.
‘You walk in with a tracksuit you’ve paid £100 for and somebody can slaughter it even if there is nothing up with it. It’s not negativity, it’s brilliant.
‘For instance, if I walk into training, I could be wearing a gold suit and Dec will just slaughter it: Welcome to training. Camaraderie is something you can’t buy.’