Wallace should not feel down about pulling out of squad, says Strachan

DRAFTED in on Tuesday, he had fled by Friday but Lee Wallace was praised by Gordon Strachan for a fleeting contribution to the build-up to a World Cup campaign he won’t be starting with Scotland.

Wallace, a late call-up for Kieran Tierney, was granted leave from the national team base with a leg injury and allowed to return for treatment with Rangers 24 hours before the SFA flight to Malta.

His club then released a picture of the Ibrox skipper smiling with Kenny Miller on board a Rangers plane bound for Belfast where he watched yesterday afternoon’s 7-0 friendly victory over Linfield.

Andrew Robertson will kick off a new qualifying campaign as Scotland’s only available leftback tonight, while Wallace will work with Rangers medical staff in an effort to be fit for Saturday’s Celtic clash.

Strachan explained that Wallace did not feature in any Scotland training sessions yet took an enthusiastic interest in the work of staff and colleagues as he gave the injury every opportunity to heal.

‘Fair play to Lee Wallace for coming up,’ said Strachan. ‘I want to know, when you turn up, how positive can you be? He’s turned up, had a bit of an injury. He stood and watched every training session.

‘He wanted to make it until the last minute on Friday morning to decide he couldn’t make it. Lee went away feeling down about himself but he shouldn’t.

‘He added to the squad, added to my enjoyment of being a coach, standing talking to him for 15 minutes after a session: “I never noticed that, that’s interesting, that looks good”.

‘He was never at any time a negative to the backroom staff, not to me or the players. He was a plus. That’s one criteria for getting here.’