Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney has been forced to withdraw from the Scotland squad following an injury.
The left-back has been tipped by many to be McLeish’s new Scotland captain, having skippered his country in the Autumn against the Netherlands. However, with the 20-year-old set to miss out this international break, the likes of Andrew Robertson and Barry Douglas – the other left-backs in the squad – now have a chance to get one up on their Celtic counterpart.
Under Gordon Strachan, Tierney was preferred at his unnatural position of right-back, while Robertson was deployed at left-back, simply as a means of accommodating both young stars in the team. Since the emergence of Callum Paterson, however, McLeish has suggested that neither Tierney nor Robertson will be deployed on the right-side, meaning that the trio of left-backs – including Douglas – will be vying for the one spot in the starting XI.
Robertson is fairly experienced with 20 caps under his belt and, along with Tierney, is Scotland’s standout player. After securing a move to Liverpool, the 23-year-old is impressing, with the Reds reaching the Champions League quarter-finals last week, and he is the most likely candidate for the left-back shirt as he was under Strachan.
However, Wolves stalwart Douglas has been enjoying a terrific campaign with the Midlands club. At 28, Douglas is yet to receive his first cap and is relatively old to be kicking off his international career, but that does not change his current form and he remains worthy of his place in the squad.
Having brought him in to the Scotland set up there is no doubt that McLeish will hand the former Dundee United man a chance to impress and, should he take his chance, Douglas may just edge himself ahead in the pecking order.
Take nothing away from Tierney and what he has achieved by the age of 20, but the young Celtic star may want to look over his shoulder with a number of others in close pursuit.
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