MCLEISH: JON’S FORM ‘EXCEPTIONAL’

Jon McLaughlin has won praise for his “exceptional” Sunderland form by Scotland boss Alex McLeish.

McLaughlin has been named in the Scotland squad for their European Championship qualifiers in Kazakhstan and San Marino and the 31-year-old has a strong chance of adding to his one cap.

McLaughlin signed on a free last summer after leaving Hearts and he has proved a sensational piece of business by the Black Cats, firmly establishing himself as the No.1 keeper and a fan favourite.

And his form between the posts has not gone unnoticed north of the border.

His chances of adding to his single cap have been boosted further by Allan McGregor’s retirement from international duty, while former Sunderland keeper Craig Gordon is out with a knee injury.

McLeish said: “Jon McLaughlin is on a mission to get Sunderland back into the Championship. They’ve had a couple of bad years but John’s form has been exceptional.

“Jordan Archer had a time out and now he is back in every single week and Millwall’s fortunes are turning a little bit also. Scott Bain has taken over from Craig Gordon (at Celtic), who would have been one of our choices had he not been injured.

“I think we’ve got three tremendous goalkeepers. It’s there for somebody to grab that chance.”

The game with Fleetwood a week tomorrow was postponed due to international call-ups with McLaughlin and Lewis Morgan away with Scotland and Tom Flanagan and Will Grigg for Northern Ireland.