Gemmill senses a new maturity in young Scots
THERE was a time when the attitude and mentality within the Scotland Under-21 squad left a lot to be desired. Back in 2005, Motherwell manager Terry Butcher used his programme notes to take a verbal flame-thrower to the ‘arrogant, egotistical swellheads’ working under his Fir Park assistant, Maurice Malpas, as No 2 to Rainer Bonhof.
But fast forward to 2019 and current Scotland Under-21 coach Scot Gemmill detects a new maturity in the next generation perhaps best epitomised by the team’s star turn, Billy Gilmour.
While his Chelsea and Scotland Under-21 predecessor Islam Feruz tumbled head first down into the pitfalls of fame and money, Gilmour remains as refreshingly level-headed as ever despite featuring for Frank Lampard’s high-flying Stamford Bridge side in the millionaires’ playground of the English Premier League.
This welcome newfound ability within the next generation to avoid off-field distractions comes as Scotland Under-21s sit proudly on top of Euro qualifying Group Four, a point ahead of Greece whom they host at Tynecastle on Friday night.
Victory would leave Gemmill’s kids well placed to reach the finals in Hungary and Slovenia in 2021 for the first time since the nation last qualified in 1996.
‘I know my experience working with the best young players in the country over the past five years that the mentality has improved,’ said Gemmill (below).
‘The pathway they are on is constantly testing them. They have to handle the different levels of improvement in their careers.
‘For example, the changes in Billy Gilmour’s life have been huge, in terms of signing for Chelsea and moving to London (from Rangers).
‘So it is a huge testament to Billy what he has achieved but also the other players as well.
‘They might not be under the same scrutiny as Billy, but they have remained on the right track. They don’t get distracted by off-thefield things. And historically that hasn’t been the case with the best young players in Scotland. That is another key sign that the new generation of players have maturity. ‘They key thing that is still to be seen is from this moment forward, is it the same for all of them? ‘We have all worked with and seen top players that don’t stand the test of time...’ Gemmill was appointed Scotland Under-17 boss in 2014 and was promoted to take the Under-21s in 2016. Over the past five years he believes the players working under him have developed a welcome change in attitude out on the pitch as well due to their willingness to listen and learn from the new structures in place.
‘I worked with a lot of these boys at Under-17 level and the nucleus of this squad has experience of playing international football,’ he said.
‘They take confidence from the preparations that all the national teams use now they are all aligned in how they prepare for games.
‘I think the behaviour of the players, individually and collectively, and the preparation has improved and the players have all progressed.
‘These players now have a belief when they play. They are not intimidated by anyone.
‘I don’t get to see them that much off the pitch so I don’t really see how they live their lives away from football.
‘But when they are here, the players are willing to do the work to show they can be trusted.’
Gemmill was hit by a quadruple injury blow yesterday when Portmouth’s on-loan Rangers defender Ross McCrorie, Kyle Magennis of St Mirren, Reading defender Tom McIntyre and Celtic attacker Mikey Johnston all pulled out of the squad for Friday’s big match against Greece.
In came Aberdeen midfielder Dean Campbell and Ross County’s on-loan Celtic midfielder Ewan Henderson.
Yet, perhaps surprisingly, there was no place in the squad for rising Hearts starlet Aaron Hickey.
The 18-year-old, who can play left or right-back and is being tracked by Manchester City, was called up by the Under-19s in September and October but pulled out to avoid overplaying.
‘We have options in the squad to play right-back with Ross McCrorie being out,’ said Gemmill. ‘We have enough depth to be fine for Friday.
‘Aaron Hickey has been close to being called up. He is still young enough to play for the Under-19s but for different reasons he hasn’t featured.
‘We have a lot of players pushing to get in the Under-21 squad but that’s what we want — players having to fight to get into the team.’