Naismith is delighted to make the case for the Souttar defence
Steven Naismith smiles as he says Scotland’s week has reminded him of the old saying about buses – you wait an hour for one, only for three to turn up at once.
Centre-half has been a perennial problem for the country during the long struggle to get back to a major tournament, one passed down from manager to manager.
But after seeing the emergence of John Souttar for the senior side, following on quickly from that of Aberdeen’s sidelined stopper, Scott Mckenna, the 32-year-old striker sees reason to believe Alex Mcleish has strong foundations on which to rebuild.
Not least because there has also been news from the Netherlands of stand-out displays by David Bates and Ryan Porteous in the Under-21’s away win over Holland.
“We already have two fantastic left-backs in the shape of Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney,” he said.
“Now, we are also getting a group of solid centre-halves into the bargain. “That is great news because it is something we probably haven’t had in my time as a Scotland international.
“We have had people in the position but there hasn’t been the competition. It looks like that is going to change which would be healthy.” Naismith cheerfully admits to being biased as to how it will all work out. He and Souttar are team-mates at Hearts and since arriving at Tynecastle in January, on the first of two loans from Norwich City, he has taken a special interest in Souttar’s development.
“John’s progression from last season to this season has been massive. I see it day-to-day.
“He’s tidied his defending up, so it is much better,” he said.
“Straight away I thought he would be ready for international football and had maybe been unlucky before.
“But when I went into Hearts I said to him, ‘You maybe don’t give many chances away, but there’s a lot of, ‘Oh, that’s close, he’s risky on the ball’ which gives people an impression different from the reality’.
“I just told him, ‘If you eradicate that, you will be giving yourself a right chance,’ because he’s a good footballer.
“I have roomed with him since we’ve been away and, after the game last Friday, I said to him, ‘You’ve done better than I thought’.
“I thought after the game against Belgium, who are a terrific side, you would come away thinking, ‘He’s the one that made his debut tonight.
“But that really wasn’t the case. He settled in perfectly well, which is great to see and now he’s in the driving seat. “He’s come in and taken the opportunity.”
The difference to Souttar as a player, Naismith argues, has been one of both physicality and mentality.
“With the injury to Christophe Berra (who is out for six months with a torn hamstring) John has had to step up, something he has absolutely done,” said Naismith.
“When he got the captain’s armband he took it on board and took it in his stride.
“He’s not trying to be something he’s not, but is just making small pointers when they are needed. It is fantastic to see.
“For example, he has become more aggressive and he takes fewer risks.
“In the past he would chance balls that had a 10% chance of being completed or creating a chance for you, whereas now he doesn’t do that.
“He waits till it’s definitely on, plays the right pass, and gets on with it.
“He’s first of all thinking about defending, which is great to see. “He’s level-headed and has worked really hard for it.
“Again, he’ll learn from it and continue. “I know for a fact that he’s enjoyed every minute of this and loved being around the top team and he will go away now and think, ‘I want to be there all the time’.” With Mckenna rated a £10m-plus player by his Aberdeen manager Derek Mcinnes, Charlie Mulgrew offering valuable experience to the side and Kieran Tierney to be accommodated, he may face a battle to do so.
That, Naismith contends, is no bad thing for a 21-year-old. “Competition drives you on. When I was younger in the national team, I had it with Steven Fletcher and Ross Mccormack,” he said.
“We came through together and then I did my knee and saw those two doing really well.
“You have that bit of, ‘I wish I was there’ and it drives you on.
“So he’ll definitely have that in his mind, but he’s done all he can in the last week.”