Alex McLeish has praised Celtic defender Jack Hendry.
Scotland boss Alex McLeish has told BBC Sport that he felt Celtic defender Jack Hendry was ‘very cool, calm and very confident’ in the 1-0 win over Hungary on Tuesday night.
Scotland lost 1-0 to Costa Rica on Friday night as the second McLeish era got off to the worst possible start, but they hit back against Hungary in Budapest.
West Bromwich Albion winger Matt Phillips put a disappointing league campaign behind him with a second half winner, after Charlie Mulgrew’s first half penalty had been saved.
McLeish decided to experiment with his side, and part of that included a start for Celtic defender Jack Hendry, making his debut for his country.
It’s not long since Hendry, 22, was allowed to leave Wigan Athletic for a move back to Scotland with Dundee last summer, but he has gone from the scrapheap to the international stage off the back of his displays this season.
Hendry has not only become a Scotland international but also earned a move to Celtic in January, and manager Brendan Rodgers will be hoping to see him thrive in the coming years.
Celtic fans should now encouraged by Hendry’s performance for Scotland, with manager McLeish telling BBC Sport that he thought Hendry was ‘very cool, calm and very confident’ for his country, suggesting more caps could be on the horizon for the centre back.
“I thought big Jack was very cool and calm and very confident,” said McLeish, who also hailed Aberdeen’s Scott McKenna as Scotland’s young defenders step up to the plate.
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