‘Excited’ O’donnell ready to prove he belongs on international stage
Kilmarnock right-back Stephen O’donnell says Peru and Mexico are perfect locations for him to demonstrate to Alex Mcleish that he is Scotland material.
The 26-year-old was called up to the national squad for the first time to replace Barry Douglas after the Wolverhampton Wanderers fullback dropped out ahead of the friendlies in Lima on 29 May and Mexico City on 2 June.
O’donnell, who joined Killie at the start of last season from Luton, had no qualms about being called into an already inexperienced and makeshift squad after being originally omitted and is excited about the chance to show boss Mcleish that he is up to the job.
He said: “There have been better players than me who have gone through their career without getting a call to represent their country.
“And a trip to Peru and Mexico, two massive countries that are in the World Cup – if there is ever a place for you to go to try to show that you belong somewhere, it is against two teams who are going to be competing in the biggest competition in the world.
“I am excited and I did not hesitate one bit to say yes,” he added.
O’donnell almost ignored the phone call which confirmed his first call-up for the senior national squad.
The former Partick Thistle defender said: “I was having a coffee with Michelle Evans [of PFA Scotland] and I got the phone call. I looked down and I was going to hang up.
“It was an 0141 number and I thought it was PPI [Payment Protection Insurance] or something.
“But Michelle said, ‘that’s Hampden’ and I got a bit excited and took the call and I was delighted.
“There was a part of me which thought I had half a chance of getting into the original squad but I wasn’t.
“At the start of the season I wouldn’t have dreamed of being in it but when I got that call I was on cloud nine.”
It is widely believed that the left-back position is Scotland’s strongest with Champions League finalist Andy Robertson of Liverpool, successive treble-winning Kieran Tierney of Celtic and Douglas all vying for the spot.
However, former Scotland Under-21 cap O’donnell said: “I just need to try to take this opportunity to show the staff what I am capable of and if that leads to future calls I will be delighted.” Hearts have completed the pre-contract signing of Adelaide United full-back Ben Garuccio.
The 22-year-old will sign a three-year deal with the Edinburgh club and offers a permanent solution to their problem left-back position.
Out of contract at Adelaide, Garuccio holds both Australian and Italian nationality and is moving to Europe in the hope of furthering his career.
He has represented Australia at under-20 and under-23 level and played at the Australian Institute of Sport, Melbourne Heart and Adelaide.
Hearts manager Craig Levein had hoped to secure another loan deal for the Manchester United leftback Demetri Mitchell. However, United officials want the Englishman for pre-season tour duty this summer and Levein cannot afford to wait too long for a decision.
Garuccio will report to Riccarton next month to begin pre-season training with his new team-mates. He will be the sixth new signing at Hearts after Steven Maclean, Uche Ikpeazu, Bobby Burns, Jake Mulraney and Olly Lee.
Garuccio explained how he asked compatriots who previously played for Hearts for advice before making the switch to Tynecastle.
“I’ve got quite a few friends that have played in Scotland so I was able to get a lot of advice. A few of them have played at Hearts and under Craig Levein, so that was a huge help,” Garuccio told the club website.
“I spoke to guys like Patrick Kisnorbo and Dylan Mcgowan, so yeah, it was really good to get the views of Aussie boys who have played for Hearts in the past. They only had good things to say about the club.
“It’s an amazing opportunity for me to join such a big club and I can’t wait to get over to Edinburgh and get started. I’ve been impressed with everything I’ve seen so far. Craig showed me around and just right from the word go I had a really good feeling about the club.”