Why Scotland Under-21s are playing catch-up in their development on the international stage

Scot Gemmill has admitted the current crop of Scotland Under-21 players are slightly behind in their development as international players due to Covid-19.

Scotland Under-21 boss Archie Gemmill. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

The team head into a European Championship qualifying double header against Kazakhstan and Belgium over the next week having picked up one point from their opening two group fixtures.

Gemmill feels there is an element of catch-up with the 21s boss eager for the squad to get more experience through game time.

"This group is behind where we have been in the last couple of years because of their age, because they have played fewer international games, because the games programme has been reduced due to Covid," he said.

"We have to accept right now the team are a little bit behind where they should be and us as a staff are behind where we should be in terms of knowing who the best players are. There have been a lot of changes in the squad and we’re trying to quickly get up to speed who the best players are.

“I know there is a lot of work behind the scenes in terms of trying to find the budget for us to play games. It’s not just the 21s I should add.

"Steve [Clarke] has spoken to me about it and he's very supportive of our youth teams really playing as many games as possible. We need our best young players to play games and get that international experience.”

The team go into the double headers against teams who present different challenges.

"I don't think it's a different mentality, I just think it's different details in terms of profiles,” Gemmill said.

"We will select different teams with different profiles that we think can help us.

"It's getting that balance right between giving that opportunity to more players, who we need to see play at this level. So there are two sides to the preparation. Of course, we are trying to win and be as competitive as we can, but also to give experience and opportunity to players who deserve it and want it as we move forward.

"For me, it's all about the details for the preparations and seeing if our players can deal with that when they are under pressure to do so. That's when you really learn about the players."

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