ONE KIWI PROBLEM
Robbo’s thrilled at his stars’ international caps but there’s.. New Zealand cause Saints gaffer a bit of Grieve
STEPHEN ROBINSON is delighted to see his international brigade flying the flag for St Mirren around the world.
But he’ll be demanding answers from the New Zealand FA on why it has taken striker Alex Grieve four days to jet back to Scotland.
Grieve won his seventh cap for the All Whites in last Sunday’s 2-0 friendly defeat by neighbours Australia.
But while fellow Buddies Keanu Baccus and Ryan Strain – who both made their debuts for Graham Arnold’s Socceroos side in Auckland – were back in Paisley on Wednesday after 34-hour journeys to begin preparations for this afternoon’s Livingston clash, Grieve did not show up until yesterday.
With frontmen Curtis Main and Eamonn Brophy nursing knocks that might rule them out of facing Davie Martindale’s Lions, Grieve’s late return is a headache for Robinson. But while he’s not pointing fingers just yet, the Saints boss will insist on an explanation for the delay. Robbo, speaking yesterday, said: “We’ve got a few injuries and we’ve got a few boys reporting back from international duty. “Ryan Strain has come back with a slight strain, funnily enough, so we’ll monitor him after his journey. “Alex Grieve isn’t in yet, so he’ll be assessed when he reports today. We’ll have to monitor him too, travel-wise. He played a game on Sunday but is only getting back on Friday.
“Does the travelling sway my thinking on team selection? It has to. The Aussie boys were back on Wednesday and trained.
“Alex isn’t back yet, he’s reporting back today but I have to look into that and why it’s taken so long to come back.
“I’ll be speaking to Alex and New Zealand. I’m sure there’s a perfectly good explanation for it but I want to find out why.
“I want everybody available and fit. We run with a small squad. We’ve got a couple of knocks with our strikers.
“The lads have had a 36-hour journey so we have to look at their bodies.”
As well as Grieve, Baccus and Strain, Saints saw Declan Gallagher receive a late invite to join Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad last week while Alex Gogic was on duty with Cyprus.
Keeper Trevor Carson was also named in Northern Ireland’s squad before withdrawing with a minor knock and Robinson believes those cap calls can boost his January recruitment drive.
He said: “I don’t think having six players called-up for international duty has happened here before, so we’re recruiting the right players. It’s fantastic publicity for us. There’s an ability here to build your career.”