Aberdeen assistant manager Tony Docherty is proud to have been asked to join the Scotland coaching set-up but says it won’t be his fault if the Dons players are left out of the national squad once again.
Derek McInnes’ number two will assist Gordon Strachan and Mark McGhee for Scotland’s upcoming friendly against Canada on March 22 and the World Cup qualifier against Slovenia four days later.
Docherty is replacing Andy Watson, who has recently taken over as technical director at the Al Habsi Football School in Oman.
Dons manager McInnes last month urged Strachan to consider selecting midfielders Ryan Jack and Kenny McLean for his next squad – and Docherty says squad selection won’t be part of his remit.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s Scottish Cup quarter-final against Partick Thistle, Docherty said: “I’m a big Scotland supporter. I love going to games and it’s hard to beat the Hampden atmosphere.
“Hopefully, that will be the case this time and we convert that into a win and kick on in the group again.
“I usually go to games with my father Gerry. He’ll go with my brother Vincent now, he’ll get my ticket.
“My dad was proud when I told him the news.
“Do I hope there are some Aberdeen players involved in the squad? That’s not for me to say – Gordon Strachan is the manager.
“Obviously there’s players I’m working with who I think are decent players who could stake a claim but it’s not my decision.
“As long as our boys keep doing what they’re doing then they’ll attract that attention.”
The Dons are without Jack (ankle), Jonny Hayes (hamstring) and Mark Reynolds (hernia) for tomorrow’s tie at Pittodrie.
It will be Aberdeen’s 400th match in the Scottish Cup and Docherty is wary of an in-form Jags team that has kept eight clean sheets in 10 matches.
He added: “It’s a huge game against difficult opponents. We faced difficult opponents in the last round away to Ross County.
“We managed to do well there and had a very dominant performance but we had to be patient. It’s an opportunity to get to a semi-final.
“I was at Partick’s 1-0 win against Dundee on Wednesday and they were excellent.
“That was the fourth game they hadn’t conceded and they’ve scored six goals. They’re in good form and they look high in confidence. We know we’ll need to be at our best to beat them.
“We’re expecting a real red hot atmosphere. It will be a proper cup tie and we’ve got to be at our best to win.”
