Stevie on international watch

Some of the players had never seen Scotland qualify for a major tournament. They weren’t born!

Like the rest of the nation and Scotland supporters all over the world, Stevie Crawford was delighted to watch Scotland qualify for the finals of Euro 2020.

“I said before the game I would be sitting watching as a supporter more than anything. Steve Clarke and his coaching staff have done a terrific job. Even talking to some of the players, they’ve never seen Scotland qualify for a major tournament. They weren’t born! So, it’s great we’re now going to be looking forward to that come the summer.”

Two of his players have been missing this week while away on international duty. Goalkeeper Owain Fôn Williams has been in Wales for his country’s friendly and two Nations League matches while on loan Rangers defender Lewis Mayo travelled to Greece with the Scotland U21s. He was an unused sub in the home match against Croatia and on Tuesday night had the same role in Apostolos Nikolaidis. Stevie commented:-

“I’ve kept in touch with both Owain and Lewis Mayo. Lewis never started, he was on the bench. They drew 2-2 on Thursday and they were away to Greece so I’ll just need to keep an eye on that with regards where Lewis is at.

“Owain never got stripped in the first game against the USA but at the weekend there he was on the bench. I’ve kept in touch with both and I’ll do that again this week.

“Wales play Finland on Wednesday and then Owain will come back. He’s an experienced guy. Depending on what time he gets home to Scotland on the Wednesday night or whether he ends up staying down there to get decent sleep, that’s something I’ve spoken about with him. He knows how he has to prepare fo Friday night to give himself the best opportunity to play.”

A side benefit of Dunfermline’s goalkeeping coach being involved with his national squad is the experience of viewing first hand the latest methods at a high level. Stevie joked that he hoped that he was taking notes for him:-

“It was great that Owain went away on international duty but he’s got a dual role at the club at the moment. So, the big man has been sending his sessions back to us and Cammy has taken the responsibility of taking himself and the young goalkeepers. So, credit to Cammy.

“I was happy with Cammy’s performance at the weekend. Last week, it wasn’t an ideal situation but he remained very focused, and it was great that the big man was sending his sessions up. Hopefully he’ll come back with some tips for the goalies.”

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