Graeme Shinnie has backed John Hughes’ bid to become the next Scotland manager.
Hughes has thrown his hat into the ring as the Scottish FA, which has made contact with former boss Walter Smith, seeks a successor to Gordon Strachan.
Shinnie firmly believes his old Caley Thistle manager, who led the Highlanders to their Scottish Cup triumph in 2015 and into Europe for the first time in their history, should be viewed as a strong candidate.
The Aberdeen skipper insists Hughes’ ability as a coach capable of getting the best out of his players should see his application taken seriously.
Shinnie, Hughes’ captain at Caley Thistle, said: “As soon as he came into Inverness when I was there you could see his knowledge of coaching and his philosophy and how he wanted to play were different class.
“His workrate and how much he wanted to do it was incredible as well. The amount of effort he put into training that would feed into how he wanted the team to play was brilliant.
“With the team we had at Inverness, you could see everyone enjoyed playing for him and loved him as a manager.
“Speaking personally, I loved him, I loved the way he wanted to play and his enthusiasm for the game and for coaching, and just wanting to be on the training pitch every day to make you a better player.
“I think the supporters in Scotland would love to see someone like that in charge.
“Gordon Strachan is obviously a brilliant coach and has done well and there’s no reason why John couldn’t go in and carry that on.”
Hughes’ CV includes promotion to the Premier League, top-flight survival and a Scottish Cup final with Falkirk, and a League Cup final with Inverness, as well as European qualification with both clubs and with Hibs.
His detractors will point to last season’s disastrous three-month spell in failing to avoid relegation with Raith Rovers and to his brash off-field character.
But Shinnie, who was in the last Scotland squad for the friendly against the Netherlands in November, is convinced the 53-year-old has the qualities needed to inspire the national team.
The 26-year-old added: “With the resources and players he would have with Scotland, everything would be there for him.
“He would be so enthusiastic for the job, he would love it, and he would thrive on it. He’s had a good CV and especially from my time at Inverness, he was different class there.
“I see no reason why he couldn’t go on and do that with the national team as well.”
