Aberdeen Women forward Bayley Hutchison admits she has missed playing international football following her graduation from the Scotland U19 squad.
The forward has not been able to play for Scotland’s youth team this season having turned 19 in October and there is no women’s under-21s side to progress to.
Hutchison earned four Scotland caps at U19s – scoring four goals – while also amassing a number of appearances at under-17s and under-16s level since 2018.
‘It’s been harder this season’
Playing international youth football, Hutchison believes, helped her development as she was regularly playing with and against some of the best young players in the world.
Hutchison said: “It’s been harder this season because you don’t have Scotland to look forward to.
“Last year, we had the training camps and qualifiers where you got to play against top players from different countries.
“I was getting to play with the best players from Scotland as well which just pushes you on and makes you a better player.
“There’s no under-21s, so the jump from the under-19s to the senior squad is big.”
When asked if she thought an under-21s squad would benefit her progress, Hutchison felt it would be a good bridge to the senior squad – who she still aims to play for.
She said: “I’ll not get into the politics of it because we can’t decide what happens and whether there is an under-21s team – but it would be nice to have.
“I guess we just have to do our best and hope that Pedro (Martinez Losa) notices you and gives you the call up.
“I’m not being biased but Eilidh Shore has been having a blinder for seasons now, so for her to get the recognition she deserves would be nice to see.
“I think we all just have to stick in and hope one person gets the call up and then that bridges the gap for more of us to get the chance.
“Playing for Scotland is top of my list – there’s nothing better than playing for your country, even at youth level.”
Relegation not an option, says Hutchison
Hutchison, who has scored seven league goals this season, admits it has been a difficult campaign for Aberdeen in SWPL 1, but believes they are more than capable of pulling away from the relegation zone.
The Dons currently sit ninth in the top flight – five points ahead of Hamilton Accies who occupy the relegation play-off spot – and host Spartans at Balmoral Stadium on Sunday.
Hutchison said: “We’re finally playing how Gavin (Levey) wants us to play, so we just have to have confidence to pick up the points.
“I think people have talked about us saying ‘we need to just focus on not getting relegated’, but we’re trying to look forward and see how many more points we can get because relegation isn’t even in our heads.
“I don’t think any of us think about relegation. We’ll go into the Spartans game with confidence and aim to get another big three points.”
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