Scotland ready to start Andrew Robertson and Kieran Tierney in Nations League double-header
The question of who should play at left-back for Scotland has been the subject of much argument as Andrew Robertson of Liverpool and Celtic’s Kieran Tierney vie for the position. According to Peter Grant, however, the matter is a non-issue and the heat can be taken out of the debate using one piece of technology.
The Scotland assistant coach was speaking ahead of the Nations League double-header against Albania in Shkoder and Israel at Hampden Park as, once again, Alex McLeish will attempt to accommodate both players with the least disruption. His favoured solution, as seen in recent games, is to have Tierney on the left of a back three, with Robertson deployed as a wing-back on the same flank.
Each player has his partisans but Grant cited a simple means of comparing where Robertson operates for Liverpool and his positioning for the national team. “Stats and all that bamboozle me at times but I go and look at Andy’s heat map and if you put Scotland and Liverpool side by side the two of them are the same,” Grant said.
“People say he is playing in the wrong position. He plays in the right position because that is where he spends 90-95 per cent of the game. It was annoying me a bit. I was thinking, ‘Well, hang on, where does he play most of the game?’ If Kieran is playing left centre-back and the ball comes down the left side of the pitch then where is he playing? Left-back. That’s the modern game, players have to adjust to circumstances.
“We will not be putting players in circumstances they are not happy with. They are two terrific players and we want them in the team and they are quite willing to play there.”
If it seems like a typically Scottish problem to have the two best outfield players vying for the same berth, the pair are at least fit and available, which is more that can be said for any other department.
McLeish’s options reduced further when Ryan Jack was ruled out of the squad because of injury. The Rangers midfielder had been called in along with Scott Bain, Scott McTominay and David Bates, after Craig Gordon, Stephen O’Donnell, Charlie Mulgrew, and Kevin McDonald dropped out with injuries.
The Scots were already without strikers, Steven Naismith and Leigh Griffiths, with Tom Cairney not selected as he worked to regain match fitness after a lay-off. James McArthur has asked not to be considered for international selection and Matt Ritchie cited personal reasons when he, too, requested not to be called up for the foreseeable future. Robert Snodgrass is another who is not in this squad, having been sent home from the previous squad because of injury.
At the start of the season, McLeish cautioned that players could not pick and choose when to make themselves available for their country. Grant made no specific references but took up the theme when he said: “If you don’t want to play for your national team, that’s it. You will be very, very fortunate if you get selected again. If you don’t want to play through injuries, that’s completely different.”
Nevertheless, Scotland, like every other country, must face the problems brought on by the arrangement of international dates, which now feature regular double-headers, as Grant acknowledged. “That is the big problem,” he said.
“I was involved at Fulham last year and a lot of them were not getting back till the Thursday. You have to manage players who want two-day recoveries. Are you kidding? We’ve got a game in two days.
“With Scotland, we’re always concerned because they are not our players. They’re representing us for the period of time they are here. That’s why we are in cahoots with the sports science staff at clubs, talking to the managers. If they’ve got any issues, we’ve got to get them checked out
“Clubs put players under a lot more pressure now. They maybe get back on the Thursday before the Premier League game on the Saturday. Is that enough time?
“We understand all these things, but for us the most important thing is still Scotland. We can’t tell managers about the pressure they are maybe putting on their players. The managers could lose their job so they want their best players available. It’s just a vicious circle.”
