The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Jet-setter backs Saints stars to fly high with Scotland squad
He teamed up with Bayern Munich superstar Alphonso Davies as Canada rampaged to a record-breaking win.
And St Johnstone midfielder David Wotherspoon would love to see Perth teammates sharing the international stage.
The Saints star, who is set to face local rivals Dundee in today’s Scottish Cup clash after shaking off jet lag, opened his international account in the 11-0 World Cup qualifying rout of the Cayman Islands.
Midfield partner Ali McCann squared-up against Italy for Northern Ireland.
And one-time Scotland U-21 cap Wotherspoon, 31, believes McDiarmid Park teammates like Jason Kerr, Liam Gordon, Jamie McCart and Shaun Rooney should now be popping-up on Scotland’s radar.
“With our recent success and form, you would think they would be there or thereabouts in terms of the Scotland team,” he said.
“I’m disappointed for them because they’ve been playing well and are not getting the recognition.
“Scotland have a good squad so it’s going to be tough.
“But if they keep playing the way they are, I don’t see why they can’t force their way into the team.
“It’s a great level to play at. You play against some of the best players in the world. It would be a great opportunity for them.
“Playing with them week
in, week out they could definitely cope with the high standard. They can push towards that.
“We have a good squad and morale about the team. That is something we want to keep at the club.
“It would be great if we could hold on to everyone and build on our success this year.”
Despite hooking up with Bayern Munich wingback Davies, the midfielder insists he gets just as much fun from playing alongside Perth defenders Callum Booth and Scott Tanser.
“It’s a great honour and pleasure to play with someone like Alphonso,” he admitted.
“He has won the Champions League and played at such a high level. It is a great experience for me.
“He is still young, still learning but his ability and quality shines through all of the time. His pace is frightening.
“To play in front of someone of that level was a real dream come true for me.
“But I enjoy linking-up with Callum and Scott just as much. I look forward to that this weekend if I get the chance.
“We have a good team spirit and seem to be working well down the lefthand side this season.”
Wotherspoon clocked up the air miles to feature in wins over Bermuda and the Caymans.
But he is refreshed raring to go again.
“I’ve had a couple of days to try and swing things round after three flights from Orlando through Atlanta and Amsterdam.
“I got back on Wednesday morning after going through seven time zones. So it has been good to have a couple of days to sort myself out.
“Both our games were based in Orlando. I don’t think the government are letting Canada play at home just now.
“The next two games are in June so we will wait and see where we play them.
“It was a great getting my first goal for Canada. I’m still buzzing and hopefully I can get more caps.
“I went into the Cayman Islands game hoping to get on the scoresheet and I was just delighted to contribute to a record win.
“That was outset.
“We went out to break records and make history for the country.
“Our plan was to get nine-plus goals and it could have been more.
“I was told to grab the ball out of the back of the net whenever we scored and get ready to go again.
“We got to our target and completed our mission. the aim at and the
“There are boys from all over the world travelling to represent Canada.
“It is a long haul definitely worth it.
“You get to play with great players and it is a great set-up.
“After beating Bermuda, we knew going into the Cayman Islands game we needed to score more goals than Suriname to boost our chances to going through to the next round.
“These games were just the start of our bid to reach Qatar but it was an exciting start for us.”
While he has one eye on next year’s Qatar World Cup, Betfred Cup winner Wotherspoon also harbours European ambitions.
“We’ve reached our first target which was top six. We were buzzing about that but look to the next one.
“That is possibly European football. It is something we will keep fighting for and strive towards.
“This is a massive for both teams.
“It is an opportunity to start another cup run after our Betfred success.
“Dundee have a lot players who have played the Premiership.
“They have a good squad and we won’t take them lightly because they are in the division below us.
“It is going to be a tough game and you have to fight for everything in a derby.
“It would have been great to have the fans in there in huge numbers. We are still gutted about it.
“But eventually they will get a chance to come back and watch us.” but it is game of in