IT is surely a positive thing from Scotland's perspective that there was as much chat yesterday about those omitted from the squad named by Gordon Strachan for the forthcoming matches against Northern Ireland and Gibraltar than there was about those who made the cut.
It has been some time since any Scotland manager has had the luxury of leaving out around half a dozen players who could all have feasibly been in the starting line-up. Throw in the fact that Strachan can also, obviously, only play one of three very talented goalkeepers, then there would seem plenty cause for optimism as the Scotland team prepares to get going again after their own winter break.
The manager himself acknowledged there would have been some players privately cursing him last night. There was no place for the Celtic trio of Stuart Armstrong, Gary Mackay-Steven and Leigh Griffiths, nor for Burnley duo Scott Arfield and George Boyd, the latter a scorer of a terrific winning goal against Manchester City last weekend. Charlie Adam, a mainstay of the national team not so long ago, was also absent, as was Phil Bardsley, he of the killer left jab that floored Wayne Rooney in a recent kitchen dust-up. Injured defender Grant Hanley also sits this one out.
In their stead have come the likes of James Forrest, scorer in Celtic's League Cup final win over Dundee United, and Matt Ritchie, the Bournemouth winger handed a first call-up. It has not been an easy squad for Strachan to compile but he is happy to have too many alternatives than too few.
"I would think [I have more options now than before], but the criteria is still, "Can you pass the ball? Are you fit? Can you work with this squad? Are you willing to put in the hours?" If you can do all that, that gives you a chance. There are some players who have loads of things but might miss out on one or two. But the group I've been working with has been first class.
"You could go to Arfield, Boyd, Bardsley, Armstong, Griffiths, Mackay-Steven and Charlie Adam. There are so many who probably think that maybe if there was a different manager they might be in the squad. It just so happens this is the type of player I like in the squad.
"It's been a long time since the last game and form can fluctuate. Players can be on fire and then dip a bit. Others who have not been playing so well can come on a bit. We are lucky enough that whenever we get them together we have been able to get a right good team performance out of them. That's because there is a nucleus that picks themselves in the squad now. It's not a case of randomly throwing people together. We have guys who have been working hard here, who know exactly what is expected of them - in training and in matches. We are trying to put another couple of names in there, just to have a look at them and to see how they can fit in."
Strachan was damned either way in the case of Armstrong and Mackay-Steven, who even at international level seem to come as a package. Had he selected them there would be the accusation that he had done so only because they had left Dundee United and were now playing for a bigger club in Celtic. Strachan, in fact, did not think the pair had progressed markedly since leaving Tannadice in January.
"First of all you have to say, have they kicked on? Or are they the same players they were five or six months ago? We picked these players over a year ago, and there are other players who will probably think they will have a good chance of being in."
Forrest remains a player forever blighted by injury and has played just 18 times this season. Strachan, though, believes the Celtic winger is worthy of his international place.
"We have seen James play in the last couple of weeks. With the games coming up, it's about players who can eliminate people. James walked on at Hampden [on Sunday] and that's what he did. I have been trying to get him back in the squad for a wee while now. I also want to sit down and get to know him because I have not been able to do that so far. We have progressed and there has been a slight tweak to how we play over the past year or 18 months. It's good to have these lads back to see what we have done."
Forrest's Celtic team-mate Craig Gordon was another to make the cut. With David Marshall and Allan McGregor also in the squad, there is no obvious first-choice when it comes to the goalkeeping position.
"I have dilemmas up front, dilemmas in midfield but that is probably as strong a goalkeeping three [as there is] in international football," added Strachan."At times we have had two goalkeepers who have vied against each other and who have been very good. It is not often you get three."
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