DON’T TAKE CAPS FOR GRANTED Eck phones up call-offs to warn them
honour and an opportunity. McLeish agreed and said: “They went to Uruguay and Chile when Michael started turning the corner with Northern Ireland.
“You have to embrace the trip. That’s my war cry to the boys.
“They’re a couple of games they might cherish forever. The fact they’ve maybe made their debut for Scotland, or have added couple of caps beside their name, it should be self-empowering.”
McLeish can still vividly recall his own Scotland debut back in 1980 against Portugal and believes youngsters such as Motherwell ’s Chris Cadden will relish their f irst taste of senior international football.
He said: “You can see what it means to someone like Chris to be called up. When I got my first cap, Jock Stein told me at an awards night dinner when I’d just lost on a recount for Young Player
of the Year to John McDonald.
“Jock came up to me and said, ‘Never mind about that – you’re playing for Scotland on Wednesday night.’
“I was stunned, shaking, but the game with Portugal went great. We won 4-1 and I played in midf ield with wee Archie Gemmill. He chaperoned me and I’m sure some of the experienced guys we have on this trip can do the same for the younger guys who are coming in for the first time.
“And if we see these lads having a couple of great games then we have won a watch. We want to get everybody buzzing for the September fixtures.”
The absence of Gordon and call-off of returning Rangers keeper McGregor for “personal reasons” has seen Celtic back-up Scott Bain called in.
McLeish said: “I saw him playing in the Rangers game a few weeks ago and he looked very comfortable.
“I spoke to Stevie Woods (Celtic’s goalkeeping coach) and he said Scott was one we should definitely look at.
“But Jon McLaughlin has had a great season at Hearts, as has Jordan Archer at Millwall.
“We’ve had these other goalkeepers for nigh on 10 years now so this is a chance for the new lads on the block to show what they can do.” and that’s what I want to do. It’s a big opportunity for everybody but you need to be selfish in these situations and look after yourself.”
The 26-year-old will take a brief break after games with Peru and Mexico before joining up with his new team-mates at Carrow Road. But he’ll be trying to make a first impression before he even gets to Norfolk.
He said: “I want to do well for my country but at the same time I need to try to impress the manager at Norwich.
“It’s the right time to challenge myself with something different.
“I’ve got the move I’ve been desperate for and Norwich will be excellent for me. I think I can go there and really impress.
“But before that we got two games in big stadiums in front of huge crowds against two teams going to the World Cup – it’s something you’ll remember in days to come.”