Fletch urged not to get disheartened by omission

Published on Thursday 4 September 2008 09:44

BILLY STARK today urged Steven Fletcher not to lose heart after missing out on a place in the full Scotland squad for this weekend's World Cup qualifier.

The national side take on Macedonia in Skopje on Saturday night in the first of their qualifying games, but there was no place in George Burley's team for Fletch, who broke into the A squad towards the end of last season.

The young Hibs hitman has instead been named skipper of the Under-21s side which faces Slovenia at Falkirk tonight and then travels to face Denmark in the final game of their European Championships qualifying campaign.

But Stark doesn't expect his captain to be in his side for too much longer, insisting that he will soon be a regular pick for the first team.

The Under-21s boss said: "People can dress it up any way they like, but the fact is that players can come in and play in the first team and then come back out and play in the reserves or the youth sides as part of a learning process.

"That applies to international football as well.

"There are different types of games, there are friendlies and competitive games which are at a different level altogether.

"Steven is still a young lad but he has been exceptional for us at under-21 level and he merited his inclusion in the full squad. It is not a case of him being back with us and he is in there for the foreseeable future. We are constantly assessing the situation. We will need to wait and see what happens but for the time being we are delighted to have him.

"Steven has nothing to prove. He is a young player with a lot of potential and I am pretty sure that he will become a regular Scotland international player over the coming years."