Burley goes with youth

George Burley today named his second Scotland squad for the upcoming friendly with the Czech Republic in Prague, and has once again looked to youth as preparations for the World Cup qualifiers continue.

 The name that sticks out is Motherwell’s Ross McCormack, who has had a fine season as the Steelmen continue their pursuit of European football. The midfielder has netted 11 goals from midfield and has also starred for the Under 21 side, which the boss believes is intergral to the progress of the national side.

“I’m a firm believer that, if you do well with the Under 21s, you should get to move up to the senior squad,” he commented.

And a point I agree with, certainly when it comes to friendly matches. Alongside McCormack, there are call ups for Rangers duo Steven Whittaker and Kevin Thomson. The 23 year olds have been impressive form at club level and while this is Thomson’s first call up, Whittaker was named in Alex McLeish’s squad for the 3-1 Euro 2008 qualifying win over Ukraine but didn’t feature. Both will be looking for their first cap and I’d suggest have a good chance of earning it.

Speaking of Rangers, there is no Allan McGregor, Barry Ferguson, David Weir or Lee McCulloch in the squad. McGregor and McCulloch look likely to be out for the season with injury, while skipper Ferguson will be rested as he carries an ankle knock. Veteran Weir has been left out, and I hope that he will be back in the fold for the Northern Ireland game in August as, despite turning 38 this Saturday, still offers invaluable experience to the Scotland backline. Celtic midfielder Scott Brown will also be missing as he requires an operation at the end of the season.

But back to the squad named. As well as McCormack, Whittaker and Thomson, two more uncapped players, Christophe Berra and James Morrison, have been selected. Berra was picked for Burley’s first game with Croatia but remained on the bench, while West Brom’s Morrison has had to pull out of previous squads with injury. He’ll be hoping to mark a superb season with his first cap.

Retaining their places from the Croatia squad include Cardiff’s Gavin Rae, Hibernian’s Steven Fletcher and Celtic’s Barry Robson. The Scottish Football Writers Young Player of the Year Fletcher will be aiming to build on his impressive display in the Croatia match.

This squad shows yet more bold selections from the boss as the countdown to the opening qualifiers in Macedonia and Iceland continues. With the promise of a good match against a very talented Czech team, it will be interesting to see if Burley’s young guns have what it takes to add more quality and depth to what is, in my view, a good squad already.

Scotland squad to play the Czech Republic in Prague, May 30:

Goalkeepers: Craig Gordon (Sunderland), David Marshall (Norwich City)

Defenders: Kevin McNaughton (Cardiff), Russell Anderson (Sunderland), Christophe Berra (Hearts), Gary Caldwell (Celtic), Christian Dailly (Rangers), Allan Hutton (Tottenham), McManus (Celtic), Naysmith (Sheffield Utd), Whittaker (Rangers).

Midfielders: D Fletcher (Man Utd), Hartley (Celtic), Morrison (West Bromwich Albion), Rae (Cardiff), Robson (Celtic), Thomson (Rangers)

Forwards: Boyd (Rangers), S Fletcher (Hibernian), McCormack (Motherwell), McFadden (Birmingham), Maloney (Aston Villa), Miller (Derby).