Hoops of a Nation

With the senior and U21 Scotland squads recently being announced it’s refreshing to see so many Celtic players involved. It shows that as a club we are not just looking at quick fix options from abroad to fill out our squad and look for success.

The first team is packed out with six bodies from the current Hoops squad as well as two ex-Celts in David Marshall and Charlie Mulgrew in there to make up the numbers. We also provide four players to the U21 set up with Aiden Nesbitt and Jamie Lindsay unfortunate to miss out while playing impressive roles in Morton’s push for promotion to the top flight.

Top sides are often criticised for ignoring home grown talent, especially in England where it really is starting to have a detrimental effect on the success of the national team, so it’s great to see so many Celtic players involved in the Scotland set up.

Yes, the national team is struggling at the moment but when you look at players like Tierney, Armstrong, Henderson and Griffiths who are all well on the right side of 30 then it can only be good for Scotland in the future.

Under Brendan Rodgers these players are only going to improve and if they can take that kind of form into the international set up then not only is the future bright for Celtic but it can only help with our future qualifying hopes as well for country.

Only two other players who ply their trade in this country have made the squad so that speaks volumes for the coaching/scouting set up at our club.

They say West Ham won England the World Cup in 1966, maybe pushing it a bit to hope for that but if Celtic can help Scotland even qualify for a major tournament in future then the club can only be congratulated on doing some excellent work behind the scenes and long may it continue. While that’s not Celtic’s goal to prop up the national team it would be mutually beneficial if our players tasted success domestically and internationally.

@UrieBhoy

Full Squad:

Gordon (Celtic), Marshall (Hull), McGregor (Cardiff on loan from Hull;

Berra (Ipswich), Mulgrew (Blackburn) Hanley (Newcastle), R Martin (Norwich), Wallace (Rangers); Tierney (Celtic), Robertson (Hull);

Anya (Derby), Bannan (Sheffield Wednesday), Brown (Celtic), Armstrong (Celtic), Burke (Leipzig), D Fletcher (West Brom), Forrest (Celtic), Cairney (Fulham), Fraser (Bournemouth), McArthur (Crystal Palace), McGinn (Hibernian), Morrison (West Brom), Phillips (West Brom) Ritchie (Newcastle); Snodgrass (West Ham);

S Fletcher (Sheffield Wednesday), Griffiths (Celtic), Naismith (Norwich), C Martin (Fulham on loan from Derby) Jordan Rhodes (Sheffield Wednesday on loan from Middlesbrough).