Smarter Soutt is great fit
Steven Naismith reckons John Souttar could be a fixture for Scotland now he’s stopped taking risks.
The Hearts defender made the step up from the Under-21 squad to win his f irst full caps against Belgium and Albania.
And Tynecastle teammate Naisy says it’s a reward for the progress he has made in a year.
Naismith said: “John’s progression since last season has been massive. He has tidied his defending up so it’s much better.
“He used to risk balls that had a 10 per cent chance of being complete or creating a chance. Now he doesn’t do that.
“He waits until a pass is on, plays the right one and gets on with it.
“Against Belgium he gave away one bad ball – a big diagonal. I said to him: ‘One bad pass’. He replied: ‘As soon as I played it, I was thinking of you!’
“Standards are high and he can go to the top so you’ve got to make him aware of what he can do.
“But first of all he’s thinking about defending. He’s level-headed and has worked really hard for it.
“He has enjoyed every minute of being around the top team. Now he’ll want to be there all the time.
“He’s in the driving seat. He has come in, seen an opportunity and taken it.”
Naismith is optimistic about Scotland’s future with new blood arriving such as Souttar and Scott McKenna of Aberdeen.
He said: “We have two fantastic left-backs and are now getting a group of solid centre-halves – something we probably haven’t had in my time.
“The manager asked all the young boys to be brave on the ball and everybody has embraced it. I came away last week thinking it’s a big step forward.”