Family was the only thing that would come between Robert Snodgrass and representing Scotland.
His mother Irene suffered a stroke during the last campaign and Snodgrass had been travelling between Birmingham and London to visit her.
The West Ham midfielder was left out of the initial squad but was called in by manager Alex McLeish following Matt Phillips’ withdrawal through injury. McLeish had said Snodgrass wanted to focus on establishing himself in the Hammers’ side but he was keen to set the record straight.
Snodgrass said: “I hadn’t chucked it. The best way to clear it up is by telling you the truth, the last time I was in the squad my mum was in the hospital, and I was in and out of the squad to visit her.
“I always said to Strachan that I’d be there, but I never really played any of the games and I scored the last goal. It was a difficult one, but I spoke to Alex and he told me he wanted me to be part of it, but there were some lads that he was giving a chance to.
“He said I had a long, hard season because I was travelling from Birmingham back to London where my family was and had to balance that with making sure my family back home was alright. To be straight, he was always talking to me and he was really good.
“It was a decision for me that was quite easy, I wanted see what my mum’s health was like and I wanted to see what was happening at West Ham, because if I was going to go, then I would have to be travelling again back and forward to my family. It was always a case of working with him and seeing what the best solution was between my mum and my family going forward.
“I had long discussions with my mum and dad and they said ‘listen, you want to play for Scotland and that’s the most important thing’. I told them I would cross that bridge when I came to it, and when I did cross that bridge when the manager named his team I wanted to be part of it.
“It’s quite hard when they ask how I’m not in the squad and then the manager came out and spoke about mentality, but it wasn’t about mentality. It was the timing more than anything that was quite difficult. He was always really good with me though, so when the first chance came I wanted back in the squad.”
The 30-year-old, who celebrates his birthday on the day of the Belgium game this Friday, has been in constant dialogue with his family and it is a team effort to make sure Irene is on the mend.
He said: “Mothers are mothers and she is of the old school as well, she just wants to make sure everyone is alright.
“She always asks what I’m going to do and I’m thinking do I use the time to be by her side, if she’s alright but I’ve got brothers and sisters and it’s a joint effort to make sure everything is fine. So it’s really good and it makes any decision a lot easier when you get the phone call to come back in the squad. You grab it with both hands and you don’t look back.
“It is difficult, but it’s one of those situations where if I could have kept it in-house I would have, but you need to tell the truth because it’s the whole reason behind it.”
The chance to potentially play at a major tournament is not one Snodgrass could pass up, now he is back in the West Ham team and in the best place to compete for Scotland.
He said: “There’s never been any doubt about playing for Scotland, I love it and I want to play at a major tournament. You come up when you have pains and niggles but I am always there and I always will be there. I’ll always support the boys even if I’m not involved.
“I was talking to Faddy about it and age does creep up on everybody but I’m playing in the Premier League, I’m playing in one of the best leagues in the world.
“So I want to bring that to the Scotland team and help the young lads coming through as well. I’m just glad to be here, it’s the start of a campaign and we need to get off to a good start.”
