Aberdeen defender Mark Reynolds is confident his team-mate Ryan Jack can force his way into Scotland reckoning.
Jack, who won 19 caps and was captain of the Scotland under-21s, has impressed as a holding midfielder this season.
The 22-year-old was called up to the Scotland squad to face Croatia last year, but is yet to be capped at senior level.
Reynolds, however, reckons it is only a matter of time before Jack makes the step up to the national team. He said: “Ryan can be looking to push into the Scotland squad.
“The biggest negative for Ryan getting into the Scotland squad is he is not really an eye-catcher – he doesn’t score goals or burst past a player like Peter Pawlett does.
“But what he does is dictate the tempo of a game, which is a very hard skill to do. Not many players can do that and that is why he is such an important player for us.
“Ryan has been our engine. He keeps the game ticking over and keeps moving the ball about.
“Unless you watch him during a game, you don’t realise how good a player he is. A lot of our games are televised now so a lot of people will see what he does and hopefully they will keep an eye on what a big influence he can have on games.
“I think team-mates appreciate it more than the media or supporters as we realise how much work he is doing for the team. When he is not there, we miss him a lot. We know he is a massive player for our club.
“I have been involved in the Scotland squads and seen the players who are there and I have no doubt if Ryan Jack was involved he would more than hold his own.”
Reynolds was in the Scotland squad for last month’s double header against Georgia and Poland but was not selected for tomorrow’s Euro 2016 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland or Tuesday’s friendly against England. But the 27-year-old is confident he can still work his way back into contention. He said: “Gordon Strachan phoned me before the squad was announced to let me know I wasn’t going to be in it. We had a discussion about being in the last few squads and he told me I am doing well and getting close.
“I am quite happy with that. It is changed days to be involved in a Scotland squad that is doing well. There is a lot of excitement. It has been great for me to be involved. I know I am still on the fringes of it but it is nice to know I am a lot closer than I had thought.
“I felt I was doing enough in training and doing enough to merit my place there. It was great the manager felt the need to phone me.”