Every Scotland squad is met with close scrutiny from the very moment it is announced and the one assembled for the double-header – away against Lithuania on Friday and home to Malta on Monday – was no exception.
The repeated omission of Aberdeen midfield pair Graeme Shinnie and Kenny McLean has come to be expected, with Dons manager Derek McInnes last week conceding he is no longer surprised to see their names not included in Gordon Strachan’s squad.
A more glaring absence on this occasion was perhaps Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor, who was the only Scottish regular not included from a dominant Hoops side that will take part in the Champions League group stages for a second successive season.
While acknowledging McGregor’s merits, Scotland assistant manager Mark McGhee says the reliability of the tried and tested at the heart of Scotland’s midfield makes it difficult for those on the outside to force their way in.
Fulham’s Tom Cairney bucked that trend by breaking into the original squad but following his withdrawal through injury at the weekend Strachan reverted to familiarity, drafting in 43-times capped West Brom player James Morrison.
McGhee is wary of making too many changes and he said: “The thing about it is, when we do the sums, we still have James Morrison, James McArthur, Barry Bannan and not only are these guys good players, they are the guys who are in possession and the guys who have been here already through this. They are still playing well, they are still doing well for their clubs, and deserve to continue.
“We have too many players and too many riches in that area of the park.
“I remember back to last year I went to see Celtic play St Johnstone early on a Sunday. I came back to Gordon and told him I thought Callum McGregor played really well. I thought he had an influence on the outcome of the game, particularly in the second half.
“It’s not that any of us here don’t think he is a good player, or that any of us here don’t think he has a future playing for Scotland. But just now we have the people we need in that area.
“We feel it’s a balanced decision and we feel it’s the right decision.”
Another player who missed out on the squad is wide player Oliver Burke, who recently joined West Brom for a £15million fee.That switch saw 20-year-old Burke break the record for a Scottish player for a second time, just 12 months after he moved from Nottingham Forest to German Bundesliga club RB Leipzig for £13million. McGhee expressed his disappointment Burke’s move abroad did not work out and hopes the five-times capped player can fulfil his potential in the Premier League. McGhee added: “It’s really disappointing but he’s moved to a fantastic league and an established club. He’s got a great move back but he hasn’t performed the way they would have hoped and I don’t know what has happened that persuaded Leipzig to let him come back.
“We think he’s a tremendous talent but he needs to play games and find a way of playing and find his game. His strengths, power, size and crossing ability, and goalscoring potential is huge but he has to find his place in a team and he can only do that by playing games. I think we need to be patient with him and not write him off this year.
“He has to learn to be part of a team. He’s still raw, even though he’s been in Germany. I hope the German way has rubbed off on him.
“I don’t know why he’s back as quickly as he is because his ability is unquestioned.
“I’ve seen him do amazing things. I’ve also never seen anyone quicker in all my years in the game and he now has to apply that to his game. If he can do that he will be fine.”
