OUR STAND INS PROVED STAND-OUTS
Ryan hails side for bending – not breaking – in face of curveballs blocking promotion
CALLUM DAVIDSON says a confident Scotland need no longer fear missing their Premier League finest.
The St Johnstone boss was thrilled to see Steve Clarke’s side overcome the absence of elite performers Andy Robertson, Scott McTominay and Kieran Tierney against Ukraine.
In Davidson’s old spot, left-back, Greg Taylor shone in the course of earning his 10th cap in the 0-0 stalemate in Krakow.
And Davidson, No.2 under former national gaffer Gordon Strachan, reckons securing success minus their top men will do wonders for the squad.
He said: “You want your best players in the team but it says a lot about the players coming in and their characters. Big results in those circumstances give the rest of the guys in the squad massive belief.
“The likes of Greg probably know they’re not going to get quite as many games. It’s a tough ask for him when you have Tierney and Robertson.
“But what an attitude he showed. Greg was really good. Aaron Hickey is a left-footed left-back as well, so it shows the versatility that he can play on the right where we’ve got Nathan Patterson too.
“We’ve got great fullbacks. We’ve a lot of good left-footers as well, which is quite unusual – John McGinn, Callum McGregor, Ryan Christie, Taylor, Scott McKenna – there’s good balance throughout.
“I know a few of the boys from working there with Gordon and know how much it means for them to play for Scotland. You can see that within the group.”
Davidson, who won 19 caps, reckons Clarke’s callups for Ryan Porteous and Stephen Kingsley sent a powerful message.
The Hibs defender’s fine debut and a second cap for Kingsley on Wednesday should encourage others in the Scottish top flight to aim to catch Clarke’s eye.
Davidson said: “It’s great to see players from outside Celtic and Rangers get into the team and perform at a high level. It’s positive for the league itself, it shows where we are as a league.
“It’s great for younger players to see. It gives them the desire and drive to know that, if they do well, they have a chance to progress and try to get into the national team. There’s a real feelgood factor from the performances.
“Over the course of the three games they were outstanding. Taking each game on its merits, the first one against Ukraine we had to win and they did.
“We knew the Ireland game would be tough and they dug in, were resolute, had a good second half.
“Going away, as a unit they showed spirit, stuck together and got a deserved point. I really like the composure in this team.
“They’re good on the ball and don’t give it away too cheaply. Now it looks as though they can dominate some teams and keep the ball, which is difficult to do at international level.
“The shape and energy were good, the changes were good after missing players. It’s great to see.”
RYAN CHRISTIE knows a thing or two about bending footballs.
The Bournemouth forward is no stranger to swinging them into the top bin himself.
But it’s the off-field curve balls – as the 27-year-old dubs them – thrown at Scotland in the space of a week that make seven points and Nations League promotion all the more remarkable in his book.
Steve Clarke totted up a total of 16 players unavailable through injury and suspension come Tuesday night’s all-ornothing clash with Ukraine.
Four full-backs and two separate back fours were in that group of absentees. Key men were falling like skittles and call-ups were as regular as an NHS 24 phone ringing.
The sickness bug that laid low a further five stars between the rousing come-from-behind victory over the Republic of Ireland and the lung-bursting Krakow clash would have been more than enough to sink previous Scotland sides.
Christie, who held his nerve to net the 82nd-minute spotkick that downed the Irish, reckons it all goes to show the impressive strength in depth Clarke now has at his disposal.
Not to mention the burning desire by those who aren’t at 100 per cent to climb out of their sick beds and empty the tank to ensure another tourney play-off is banked before Euro qualifying begins.
Christie said: “Some of the boys were hit quite badly. A few managed to keep going but weren’t feeling great. So that on top of a lot of injuries we’ve had... a lot of curveballs have been thrown at us this campaign. But the boys who have been called up, like Stephen Kingsley, did well. And Ryan Porteous winning his first cap was unbelievable.
“It shows, moving forward, we have strength in depth.
“It makes it all the more satisfying – 100 per cent.
“After Ireland we were delighted with the result but had to settle down quite quickly and realise we still had to come here to do a job.
“To get that over the line and top the group, everyone is buzzing and looking forward to the next qualifier.”
It’s a far cry from a little over three months ago when the last camp ended in dejection and with pressure on Clarke.
The 3-1 powder-puff playoff defeat to Ukraine, a 3-0 drubbing in Dublin and an unconvincing win in Armenia raised questions as to where the nation was heading, with the feelgood factor rapidly depleting for Scotland.
The answer after three performances in the space of six days that had quality, grit and desire in equal doses is to the Nations League top tier.
Throw in the play-off spot and a pot two seeding for the Euro 2024 qualifying draw and it’s one hell of a turnaround.
Christie added: “We said going into the week we wanted to reverse the thoughts we had coming out the summer. I don’t think we could have asked for a better week. You would like to make it perfect and win against Ukraine.
“But when we saw the conditions, the pitch, the hostile crowd, we did well to dig in and get a point.
“Passing England on the way up? That’s not a bad thing, that’s for sure!
“At the start of the week we set out to do this, we knew how tough it was going to be and everyone is buzzing.
“Does it give me ammo for going back to the dressing room at Bournemouth?
“Maybe... that would be nice! We just want to keep building on this. The gaffer touched on how disappointing the summer was when he spoke at the start of the week. “That’s gone now and all we can do is look forward to the next competition we can qualify for.
“This week has put us in a really good spot going into the next qualifiers.
“We have a friendly in November. We will meet up for that, then we will be ready to go in 2023.”
Christie was the goal hero in Belgrade a little under two years ago when ending a 23-year wait to reach a major finals by winning a nerve-shredding playoff final against Serbia on spot-kicks. That sparked incredible scenes as players and Tartan Army troops partied like they’ve never done before.
But with two sides automatically making it to Euro 2024 from each group in upcoming qualifiers, the former Celtic man is keen to avoid requiring the playoff safety net this time around.
Asked if finishing in the top two has to be the next target, he said: “Yeah, why not?
“We want to keep building. The play-off route helped us qualify the last time, so it’s nice to have that in the back pocket.
“But we have to push ourselves all the way.
“When you come here and get results against good sides it gives you confidence.”
Passing England on the way up? That’s not a bad thing, that’s for sure! We just want to keep building RYAN CHRISTIE ON PROMOTION TO NATIONS LEAGUE TOP TIER AFTER PERFORMANCE IN POLAND