Scot knows the importance of of his role
Scot Gemmill insists developing players for Alex Mcleish’s full squad is a bigger priority than qualifying for their first Under-21s Euro Finals for 23 years.
The young Scots sit in joint second place in their group after a superb midweek win in Holland – completing home-andaway wins against the Dutch.
With two games left, away to Ukraine and home to England, Scotland are well positioned to finish in second place where they would hope to clinch one of the four best runners-up spots which would earn them a playoff place. Scotland haven’t qualified for an Under21s Finals since 1996, but Gemmill insists it gives him more pleasure seeing some of his young guns fast-tracked into the senior squad.
He said: “It gives me great satisfaction that we have Oli Mcburnie, John Souttar and Scott Mckenna all in the full squad who are still eligible for the Under-21s.
“And also that we now have the likes of Billy Gilmour, Mikey Johnston and Fraser Hornby, who are young enough to play in future campaigns. “Maybe people get frustrated at times when I’m asked about a group table and qualification.
“I can sense surprise when I say that sometimes I haven’t even looked at it. Listen, if we qualify, it’s amazing. But there’s another job to be done.
“I’m full of confidence. I know I’m doing a good job here. I’ve got my boss, Malky Mackay, with me all the time. But I don’t feel under any pressure, as I’m confident that how we prepare for games is correct.
“Luckily I’ve had some good results to verify that. But I’m being genuine, it’s not about me. It’s about the players and I love the fact we’ve helped some of them get into the full squad.
“And, equally, that I’ve helped younger players reach major finals. “People want me to speak about qualification. I’m reluctant to say it’s not a priority because of course it’s linked. But I try to zoom in more on the development of the players.
“When they go to play for the full team, that’s the priority in my eyes.
“That’s the objective of the Under-21 team, to produce players capable of playing for Scotland. “When that happens, the Under-21 team evolves. We have a totally different team now to the one that started the current campaign – but that should be seen as a positive.”