Mcleish to call on Jack after a raft of call-offs
Scotland are set to recall Ryan Jack after being hit by a spate of call-offs last night.
Beleaguered boss Alex Mcleish had already had James Mcarthur, Robert Snodgrass and Matt Ritchie declare themselves unavailable for the crucial Nations League ties against Albania and Israel.
And last night he learned that Charlie Mulgrew, Stephen O’donnell and Kevin Mcdonald will all also miss out due to injury.
With no cover for right-back O’donnell in the squad, that will mean a call up for Rangers utility man Jack, who already has two caps.
Others could also be drafted in, but with Rangers and Celtic both in Premiership action this afternoon, the national side’s coaching staff are considering their options.
Already Mcleish has stonewalled questions over whether Nations League failure would cost him his job.
But one of his coaching staff, Peter Grant, is happy to tackle the issue head-on.
“That is football now,” said the Scotland assistant, as he looked ahead to Saturday’s crucial clash with Albania in Shkoder. “Look at how it is in England. You have three games a week in the Championship, and if you don’t win two of them then you can be out the door a day later.
“It is just the nature of the beast now. “You can’t plan for it. All you can plan for is the next game when you are in charge. “How long it goes on, nobody knows? “I think that it is pretty much the same for players. Football is a fantastic career – but you never know when it is going to end.
“It is a day-to-day business, always has been. In fact, you have a bit more protection now.
“Now, as a player, when you sign a contract in August, you at least know you are staying until Christmas.
“For us managers and coaches, you could go in a day. You’d get put out the door and someone else would be in to replace you. “We have always lived under that pressure. “That has always been the case with Celtic, Rangers and Scotland, and that won’t change.
“So you have to take on the challenge, and grasp it with both hands – embrace it with all your enthusiasm.
“It hurts Alex when there is criticism. But he is a realist as well and he realises when we don’t do well, we deserve everything we get.
“So we have got to try to put it right. That is the beauty of the next game coming up.
“Everything else before has gone now, but we will learn from it and these young guys have had another experience.”
Grant only won two caps for Scotland as a midfielder. Now a fighting-fit 53-year-old coach, he jokes he would have given his right arm to win more and anyone who witnessed him in action in his years at Celtic wouldn’t dispute his commitment.
“We have to bring that to the young players,” Grant continued.
“Look at John Mcginn. He was struggling with an injury before the last game and nobody even knew because he was so desperate to play.
“Aston Villa were questioning whether he would be fit in a few days and he kept replying, ‘No, I will be ready in a couple’.
“That is the kind of character you need around your group.
“When we see that, it galvanises us to try to get it right, to make sure we don’t get the type of performance we got against Israel.
“Supporters want to go to a major tournament, and we are the same.
“We know there is no hiding place from the fact we were really poor in Israel.”
Things change, though, and Grant believes Scotland will be fortunate to have in Callum Mcgregor, a player performing at the very peak of his powers and who has been likened to a NFL quarterback.
“Celtic are in a bit of form and, for me, it’s down to that guy in the middle,” said Grant. “Brendan Rodgers described Callum as the Tom Brady of Celtic at this moment in time. That is the way he’s playing.
“That is handy for the national team because it gives us a player who can operate in different areas of the pitch and is able to handle the ball, something Callum can do fantastically well.” n