Why Aberdeen is a trip worth making again; Scotland coach hails 'local' talent and praises '38-year-old' returnee

Scotland assistant manager John Carver was at Pittodrie on Sunday to watch high flying Aberdeen v Hearts (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

Once upon a time a trip to Aberdeen was a well-trodden path for a Scotland coach. So much so that it might have been worth the SFA keeping a but ‘n’ ben in Banchory.

That would have suited John Carver. It is a long old drive from Heddon-on-the-Wall, where the Scotland assistant manager is based. But there was no way of getting out of it a few days ago. After discussions with Steve Clarke, the sat nav was set for AB24 5QH and Aberdeen v Hearts - Scottish football’s game of the weekend.

Unusually, it lived up to the pre-match billing. Carver enjoyed five goals at Pittodrie as well as seeing enough from an Aberdeen full-back to render his visit more than worthwhile. He had not necessarily gone to assess Jack MacKenzie but when Celtic’s Greg Taylor pulled out of the Scotland squad, news that was confirmed earlier today, the in-form 24-year-old was an obvious choice.

Like Nicky Devlin on the other side of the Aberdeen defence, MacKenzie has been excelling week in, week out for a winning team. It would have been hard to overlook the pair although MacKenzie’s case was helped by the Under-21s having two important upcoming games against Belgium and Kazakhstan, with their European Championship qualifying hopes very much on the line.

Former Hibs full back Josh Doig, now at Italian club Sassuolo, might otherwise have been promoted to the senior squad. The same probably applies to Connor Bannon and Max Johnston, who have remained with the Under 21s despite the intensifying injury problems hampering Scotland at an already difficult time.

Clarke is seeking a way out of a run that threatens to get a lot worse before it gets better. It already stands at an unprecedented eight competitive games without a win. It’s now just one victory of any sort – against Gibraltar in a pre-Euro 2024 warm-up – in over 13 months. It doesn’t get any easier, with Nations League fixtures against Croatia away and Portugal at home coming up.

So Clarke could do without the extensive casualty list that has meant he has been forced to dig ever deeper down into his resources. This has exposed the scant options available in some cases. Clarke and Carver assembled a Scotland team with a difference on Monday morning: an injured first XI. Sadly, no caps will be awarded to these players sidelined due to one ailment or another.

"We looked on the board at the squad, maybe there's 30, 40 players," said Carver. "We actually put out a full-strength team on the injured board. But this is what happens in international football, sometimes you're not in control of your own destiny. We've obviously called up guys who are going to get an opportunity, and I see it that way. We can't worry about the guys who are not here, we have to concentrate on the guys who are here."

That didn’t stop them chalking up a team of unavailable players. It probably helped focus the mind. Top of the list was Angus Gunn, who would have started in goal after helping to keep the score down against Portugal in Lisbon last month. He was replaced at half time of Norwich City’s 4-0 win over Hull City on Saturday and has since pulled out of the squad due to a rib injury.

This has opened the door for Craig Gordon to make his first competitive appearance in over two years. Presuming he plays in Zagreb on Saturday night, he will burnish the legend of someone who is already Scotland’s oldest-ever player at 41.

As far as Carver is concerned, the title of Scotland’s oldest-ever player remains with David Weir, who made the last of his international appearances against Spain aged 40. The assistant manager shaved three years off Gordon, who he said was really only 38 on account of his long injury lay-offs, the most recent one of which amounted to almost a year. It says everything about Gordon that he's not simply back in the fold, but in pole position for the No. 1 shirt ahead of Dundee’s Jon McCracken and the recalled Robby McCrorie.

"It's as if he's never been away," said Carver. "He's just walked in as if he's part of the fixtures and fittings. When you think about it, his last conversation with Steve, when he got his 75th cap, was: 'Steve, look I'm coming back, I want 76, 77....' That's his attitude. He's 41, but he's had three years out injured, so, in the football world, he's really 38."

Carver was able to watch Gordon in the flesh as recently as Sunday at Pittodrie. The ‘keeper was on the losing side after conceding three goals to Aberdeen, one of which was scored by new Scotland squadmate Devlin. The comeback win maintained Aberdeen’s 100 per cent record since the start of the season.

Carver welcomed the Pittodrie club’s timely re-emergence as a force, even if it meant he was forced into a circuitous route when travelling to the Scotland team base in Glasgow from Tyneside. The 300 or so extra miles proved worth it.

“I think it's great as well, because it's a team from Scotland,” said Carver. “I like that. I think it's important that people out there, young players who are playing in Scotland, actually realise we're out there watching and they might just get an opportunity, because it's not just about them going down the road and playing or going over to Italy and playing. It's about the local guys getting an opportunity. “And these guys are not getting their opportunity just because they are local guys. It's because they're good enough to be in the group. And that's important. And it's important that we go and see that. It's a long way to go, mind, Aberdeen, I've got to be honest, especially from Newcastle! But it was worthwhile, we had so many players on show.”