ROBERT Snodgrass’s trial separation from the Scotland team wasn’t exactly working out. Estranged from squads towards the end of the Alex McLeish era, wherever the West Ham forward would go with his wife and kids, he was unable to feign indifference for long.
“I couldn't stop watching them,” admits the 31-year-old. “My missus just laughed at me, saying: 'you're kidding yourself on.' We even went to Dubai and I was watching the games. She was coming over to me asking what I was doing.
"It is what it is,” he added. “I've been patriotic since I was a young boy, watching all the big names. So just to be part of it is a special feeling.
"We'd just love to qualify for a major tournament. It would be hypocritical for me if I turned my back on something without trying to make it better."
READ MORE: Robert Snodgrass is a big character who has returned to the Scotland fold under Steve Clarke
Snodgrass isn’t just driving up the road again. He remains committed to driving up standards too.
When you pick the bones out of his recent exile from the international fold – the fact he fell out of favour to the extent new manager Steve Clarke wasn’t sure whether he had retired from international duty or not - one part of the story usually avoids attention.
The 31-year-old was one part of an axis of experienced squad men asked by the SFA’s head of performance Graeme Jones to tell them the full, unvarnished truth about every aspect of the international player’s lot – and throw in a few pointers as to how it could be improved.
Snodgrass, typically, wasn’t afraid to chip in his two bob’s worth. Whether it always endeared him to the previous regime is another question.
Thankfully, he sees Steve Clarke as a kindred spirit in this regard. Armed with three decades worth of experience at some of the biggest clubs in the world, the 56-year-old is equally meticulous when it comes to adopting Premier League best practice into the fine details to avoid more calamities like Kazakhstan. Give footballers something to complain about and they probably will.
"When I came in for the last campaign, we were having meetings about doing everything we all could to make the country better,” said Snodgrass, back in the fold for the double header with Russia and Belgium. "There were a few of us - some of the more experienced lads - who spoke about our experiences. We put all our cards on the table and pushed for what we thought as players.
"The thing is, playing down south, we heard about England and they get paid for going away," he added. "We don't get paid - we do it because we love playing for Scotland, there's no other way about it. I'll say to you truthfully, I don't want to be away from my three kids. But I'm here because I love playing for Scotland.
READ MORE: Rangers manager Steven Gerrard told me to be selfish, says Ross McCrorie
"I could use this time to spend with my family - I'm over 30 now and have done this for years - but it's the love that drives us forward. And when you love something you want to try and make it better. It's as simple as that, you want to try your best.
"Steve Clarke feels the same because he wants everything to be better. The supporters will feel the same too
"For the players who are coming to the back end of our careers, we probably won't get the benefits from it. But if we set the ball rolling now then the younger boys coming through will.”
Where at first Snodgrass had only Andy Robertson for company when it comes to players earning their daily bread in the Premier League, now the likes of Ryan Fraser, John McGinn, Scott McTominay, Oli McBurnie, Kieran Tierney, Kenny McLean and Grant Hanley for company.
“Every one of those lads would run through a brick wall for you but there’s more to it than that," he said. "When you get to these levels, you need quality all over the park. You need the SFA working with us to get every single thing right so when you come into these games, you’re tuned in, at your best, physically and mentally, and ready to believe you can win these games."
The transformation in training surface, from a rutted makeshift space outside Mar Hall, to the manicured lawns and indoor, Hampden-sized 4G surface at Oriam, is a case in point.
“It’s small things,” said Snodgrass. “We turn up to Mar Hall and no disrespect to Mar Hall, but it’s a bit of grass that’s been cut. Boys in previous camps were rolling their ankles. Now we’ve got the Oriam, a big set-up. We’ve got boys here at top clubs winning Champions Leagues. They’re getting properly looked after.
READ MORE: Christopher Jullien insists he took no prisoners in war of words with Alfredo Morelos
“Every single time we’ve came, we’ve never questioned it,” he added. “You’re so privileged in every way possible to play for your country. But that reaches its limit, you need everyone pulling in that direction. And you need it everywhere, not just you as a player.
"We need to assess it somehow and get it right. People think you’re just using excuses but it’s not. I’ve played at the top level for years now and know it’s the small percentages that matter. That’s what the difference is between you getting to a major tournament or not.
“We’ve had meetings with the SFA and they’ve been brilliant. Graeme Jones has been one of the main guys and for him to take the fall is incredible. I understand when results don’t go well, it’s broken down and people blame whoever. You’ve got to take the good with bad. Getting beaten by Kazakhstan, you’re going to get criticism.
“But the boys have touched on it - lads are used to certain things at their clubs. It’s a case of getting a happy medium for Scotland going forward and they have done. The training facilities at the Oriam has got everything – they’re trying their best to get everything right. When everything is done there, it’s up to us as players to do the business."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here