Scotland Under-21s manager Scot Gemmill says there is “no silver bullet” to fixing Scottish clubs’ failure to develop their young players.
It follows a damning SFA report released last week which found Scotland falls far behind nearly every other European league in giving minutes to youngsters.
Players under the age of 21 in Scotland are being given less game time than countries with smaller populations and fewer resources, such as North Macedonia and Montenegro.
Responding to the report, the young Scots manager said: “The evidence is clear that young Scottish players are receiving less opportunities than their foreign counterparts.
“I think that there’s no silver bullet [to fixing the issue]. The report has got some really interesting ideas – it’s just about whether they can be implemented.”
On whether he feels players coming through the ranks for the Under-21s are at the level they should be at for their age group, Gemmill said: “I think what is clear – and the report evidences it in my opinion – is that we need more of them [young players]. We need depth.”
The young Scots are currently preparing for their forthcoming UEFA Euro 2025 qualifiers. They host group leaders Spain at Tynecastle on Friday 6 September before travelling to Malta the following Tuesday in what will be a crucial double header as they bid to qualify for next year’s tournament in Slovakia.
Gemmill today announced his squad for the fixtures: Josh Doig, Lyall Cameron, Lewis Fiorini, Connor Barron and Kieron Bowie are among those named.
Meanwhile Ben Doak, Max Johnston and Tommy Conway will miss out after being picked for the Men’s A squad by Steve Clarke for their UEFA Nations League matches.
“It’s great that we’re giving opportunity to younger players that can play again for the Under-21s,” Gemmill said.
“This is the 2002 generation competition right now and we’ve got 10 players that are now eligible to play in the 2004 generation competition.
“There is a big advantage to that because it’s very important that the young players get that opportunity, but I think it also exposes that there is a lack of depth – and that’s the same for the Men’s A.
“The Under-21s - and probably all the age groups actually - we want to be in a position where we have more players to pick from and I think if you compare us to the other top nations around Europe then that is a real key factor for them – they have more players to pick from and we want to try and improve that.”
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