For all those who have knocked Scotland’s trip to play Peru and Mexico, I’d urge you to ask the likes of Scott Bain if it was a waste of time.
The goalkeeper has just topped off a mental six months by being capped for his country. It wasn’t so long ago that he looked as though he was heading out of the game and here he is with a four-year-deal at Celtic and pushing himself to get into the international fold.
I can only speak for myself but I am sure that it is the same for many players; pulling on the colours of your country is an honour wherever and whenever it is.
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There would inevitably have been some frustration from the manager that he didn’t have a full squad of players to pick from. There is a clutch of players unavailable for various reasons but for the guys who have gone in, it will have done them no harm at all.
Lewis Morgan gave a pretty good account of himself and his confidence will have benefitted from that before he heads back to Celtic to start his pre-season.
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We’re not kidding anyone. I am sure that Scotland would have loved to have been preparing for a World Cup and anything other than that does feel flat but there are definitely lessons to draw from the trip. Those guys who turned up and went and put a shift in will have done themselves no harm at all either in the eyes of Alex McLeish.
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