Celtic midfielder Scott Brown retired from Scotland duty this week, and Martin Canning reckons Rangers midfielder Greg Docherty can replace him.
Hamilton manager Martin Canning has told STV that he reckons Rangers midfielder Greg Docherty would be an ideal replacement for Celtic skipper Scott Brown at Scotland level.
Brown, 32, announced his retirement from international duty on Monday after earning 55 caps for Scotland, but is now focused on furthering his career with Celtic.
The former Hibernian man claimed he held talks new Scotland boss Alex McLeish over his future but Brown is adamant in his stance that his time in the Scotland national team has come to an end.
Scottish media has been touting a number of names as Brown’s successor in McLeish’s side ahead of March’s international break, with Hibs midfielder John McGinn the obvious candidate. But Canning believes Docherty will be keen, too.
“It’s an opportunity for Greg again, I’m sure they’ll be people looking at Scott Brown’s retirement and thinking that’s an opportunity for them and rightly so,” Canning said.
“If you are Greg or John McGinn you wouldn’t be filled with the correct ambition if you weren’t looking at that and thinking I can make that slot my own.
“Good luck to Greg, who’s moved on from here, McGinn or whoever takes that spot because they’ve got big shoes to fill as Scott Brown was definitely a Scotland legend.”
Docherty has finally broken into Graeme Murty’s starting eleven after a slow start and was arguably one of the Gers best players on the park against Hearts on Saturday.
He is yet to be capped by Scotland but he is likely to come into the reckoning sooner rather than later if he continues to impress in the middle of the park for Murty’s side. At just 21, he could well become Brown’s long-term replacement.
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