The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Burke heir to revive young Scots’ fortunes
New generation: Out with old, in with new as Gemmill builds
New Scotland under-21 manager Scot Gemmill has challenged his players to follow Oliver Burke’s lead if they want to fulfil their international ambitions.
The former Nottingham Forrest and Everton midfielder has named his first squads since replacing Ricky Sbragia.
Gemmill has given 10 youngsters their first call-ups to the under-21s, but wants his players to dream big and reckons £13million Burke is the perfect role model.
The 19-year-old has made a swift progress since breaking out of Nottingham Forest’s academy two years ago.
His City Ground displays persuaded bigspending German outfit RB Leipzig to make him their latest purchase, while national team manager Gordon Strachan has been so impressed by the Kirkcaldy-born youngster he gave him the job of leading Scotland’s attack in the World Cup qualifying win against Malta earlier this month.
Burke underlined his potential when he crowned his first Leipzig start on Sunday with a debut Bundesliga goal in a 1-1 draw against Cologne and Gemmill hopes he is just the first player to emerge.
“Oliver is a real and obvious example of how quickly it can escalate for a young player,” said Gemmill, pictured, who won 26 caps.
“It should motivate the players by showing if they are doing well at the younger levels then the manager will play them in the full squad.
“I was lucky to work with Oliver with the under-19s. I was one of the first people to be sent to watch him when we found out he was eligible to play for Scotland.
“His talent was obvious and he was full of potential. “He seems to have made a good start to his time in Germany. He has everything needed to become a leading player, his potential is outstanding. “Not only is he physically very impressive, as is his pace, but he is a very grounded individual with a very good attitude. A player can be as fast as he wants but if he hasn’t got the intelligence or the ambition then he is not going to go very far.
“But Oliver is willing to listen and wants to get better. That’s an important message for the other young players.”
Gemmill has taken the reins of the 21s after former Sunderland manager Sbragia’s tenure ended with another failed qualification bid.
Next month’s European championships qualifiers against Iceland and Macedonia are already meaningless with Scotland second-bottom of the six-team group and out of contention to reach next year’s finals in Poland.
But with the new man in charge already setting his sights on the 2019 tournament, it’s out with the old and in with the new as the likes of Ryan Gauld, former Caley Thistle player Ryan Christie and Jason Cummings have been dispensed with for the final two games of the campaign.
In their place comes the likes of Nottingham Forest defender Alex Iacovitti, Chelsea midfielder Ruben Sammut, Celtic’s Aidan Nesbitt and Rangers forward Ryan Hardie – who has worked with Gemmill at under-17 and under-19 level – while Aberdeen midfielder Craig Storie keeps his place in the squad.
Gemmill said: “As soon as I was told I was talking the games my focus moved to the players who are eligible to play in the next campaign.
“It seemed common sense to prioritise those players.
“The focus of the staff is to leave no stone unturned in making sure we have maximised our time between now and the next qualification campaign.
“I think these players deserve their opportunity. Most of them have played at younger age levels and now it’s about giving them the opportunity to see if they can play at 21s.
“I’m very confident they can do it, but we won’t know until we put them in there.”
“Oliver real and obvious example of how quickly it can escalate for a young player” “Not only is he physically very impressive, as is his pace, but is very grounded”