Gemmill sure Hickey has desire to play for Scotland
SCOT Gemmill insists Serie A star Aaron Hickey remains completely committed to Scotland despite pulling out of another international squad.
Unspecified injuries saw the Bologna player and his fellow full-back Calvin Ramsay of Aberdeen withdraw from tomorrow night’s Under-21s clash with Denmark at Tynecastle.
Former Hearts youngster Hickey has yet to win a single cap for the 21s, having pulled out of national service with injury four times previously, including once with the Under-19s.
His international career has so far been restricted to just three appearances at Under-17 level, but Gemmill sought to allay fears over the 19-year-old’s dedication to the cause.
Speaking ahead of the european Championships qualifier with the Danes, the Scotland head coach said: ‘Did you see the pictures of Aaron in the summer with the Scotland flag around his shoulders (when he signed for Bologna)? There’s no doubt he wants to play for Scotland.
‘But what i do have to report is that Aaron Hickey and Calvin Ramsay are both injured and unavailable for selection.
‘it’s disappointing for everyone and especially for the players. These are young players who want the experience. They are doing great for their clubs.
‘luckily for us, we do have depth in the squad, which hasn’t always been the case.’
Hickey (right) scored his second Serie A goal at the weekend, the left-back cutting inside to score with his right foot in a surprise 3-0 win over lazio.
Gemmill is thrilled with his progress, admitting: ‘it’s fantastic he’s got that chance and he’s made that impression, got himself in the team. it’s obviously very difficult to do that. But i think you can apply that to all of our players.
‘Josh Doig is currently playing for Hibernian. Adam montgomery has been left-back for Celtic in the last couple of games.
‘They’re all on different pathways and it’s harder at certain clubs than others. But they need to find a way.
‘it’s the challenge for every young player — and i do think the pathway has changed.
‘Going back to my generation, it was easier to become a pro. it was still hard but easier to become a footballer.
‘The success ratio has dropped to a point where under one per cent now get to play at the top level, which is incredible. But they’re competing with players from all over the world to get into their local team.
‘For Aaron to go and do it in italy is fantastic. But it’s only the start. He has to keep pushing and really establish himself, get those experiences up.
‘my dad used to always say to me that you weren’t really an established player until you’ve played 100 games. So they need to keep pushing.
‘There is always that doubt where things can change. Players can get injured, clubs can sign players. You need to keep pushing and pushing, take nothing for granted and get your appearances up all the time.’
Gemmill’s side drew 1-1 away to Turkey in their opening fixture.
After Scotland agreed to a request from Denmark to switch this week’s fixture, the young Scots have four home qualifiers in a row, with Kazakhstan, Belgium and the Turks to follow.
As well as hoping to qualify for the finals, Gemmill wants his team to show enough improvements to take them into Pot 3 of seeds.
‘in terms of being competitive, trying to get the team as far in the competition as possible, of course it is (important) but the bigger thing is improving the team and trying to get out of Pot 4,’ he said. ‘it is something we have made improvements in, the results we managed to get in the last competition have put us right to the top of Pot 4. ‘We’re only a couple of hundred points behind the bottom team in Pot 3 so, for me, the real objective is getting out of Pot 4. ‘in my opinion, Scotland Under-21s should never have dropped to Pot 4 but that is the situation we find ourselves in and we have worked really hard to get us into this position.’