Shinnie resigned to Scotland fate
AS A man who made his name at Pittodrie, Gordon Strachan seemed oddly resistant to the claims of today’s generation of Aberdeen players. Under his reign, any Dons fan wishing to see one of their own representing Scotland would have had to fly 800 miles for 58 minutes of football.
Strachan’s five-year tenure as national coach may have coincided with the club’s resurgence under Derek McInnes — but Kenny McLean’s appearance in a Prague friendly against the Czech Republic in March 2016 stands as the sole occasion on which he saw fit to hand a cap to an Aberdeen player.
Mark Reynolds appeared in a few squads, while Graeme Shinnie and Ryan Jack were invited along at one stage or another to effectively make up the numbers in training. Each remains uncapped.
With the national team returning to the north east for the first time since February 2013 and a new caretaker coach in charge after Strachan’s sacking, there are some hopes that at least one of McInnes’s players will sneak into the squad to be announced by Malky Mackay this week.
When the club’s official website announced that Pittodrie would be hosting next month’s international against the Netherlands, it used an image of club captain Shinnie to illustrate the story.
The message wasn’t particularly subtle but, sensibly, Shinnie (below) exudes diplomacy when pressed on the issue.
The 26-year-old also knows better than to get his hopes up.
He said: ‘Maybe they will look to freshen things up with different players now but that is outwith my control.
‘If the new manager thinks the players here at Aberdeen are good enough, then I’m sure we’ll have a chance — but there are a lot of players out there who are dying to get in the squad and would love to be there.
‘It’s a challenge and something that can keep driving you forward but you’ve got to keep playing well for your club. I think I need to focus on the games coming up for Aberdeen.’ Shinnie made it on to the bench for Scotland’s final Euro 2016 qualifier away to Gibraltar a couple of years back but has struggled for recognition since. Once an impressive performer for Inverness Caley Thistle at left-back, he has settled into a central midfield role at Aberdeen — the area where Scotland happen to be strongest. Last Wednesday’s top-of-thetable Premiership clash with Celtic put the challenge facing Shinnie, and indeed McLean, into sharp focus. ‘There are a few at Celtic — Scott Brown for one but also Callum McGregor and Stuart Armstrong,’ he continued. ‘When I went away and trained with the Scotland squad, I saw how high the standard was. ‘You are in there with players at the top of their game — that’s why they are selected.’