YOU CAN B HEROES

SCOTLAND boss Walter Smith will take a B squad to Ireland next month hoping to unearth some A-list stars.

The national manager has arranged the game against the Republic in November and, unlike the Future Team games of the past, this is a genuine platform for untried players to impress the manager.

A good performance in Dublin on November 14 by the likes of Scott Brown, Michael Stewart, Stevie Smith, Robbie Neilson and many others would do their cause no harm at all.

Smith revealed in February that he was keen to get back to the days when young players, and those on the fringes of the Scotland squad, would get a chance to at least sample international football.

The B game against the Irish will be the first of many and the gauntlet has been thrown down to those who are taken across the water.

Smith said: "The lads who were in the Under-21s will make up the bulk of the squad because there is a gap now for them between leaving that level to the national team.

"As regards some of those who have been in the squads, it's more for the younger players as it's a bigger jump for them.

"They will come in and I want to try and get a few B internationals for these boys to give them a taste of international football.

"This is the first of a number of games at this level and it's easier now as more countries have the same problems as us.

"There are a lot of players who would have left international football after the Under-21s and that is a gap we have to bridge.

"There used to be an easier progression in a sense because you also had an Under-23 team. That is maybe slightly a better age.

"But with Scotland, we've had players such as Darren Fletcher and James McFadden coming into the team when they were teenagers, but now they are there it does make it more difficult for other youngsters to come into the group.

"It is always difficult to take a full international friendly and place them all in that one if the other countries are playing their full-strength team for whatever reason.

"There is a date in February and I will look at that as a chance to play another B game.

"It gives me the chance to see how they handle coming away in a group. A big factor at international level is how they cope with being with a group of players for 10 days as we do with Scotland."

It's been a good couple of weeks for Scottish football with the Old Firm recording excellent wins in Europe, in the wake of the already famous win over France by the national team.

The only disappointment for Smith is that he has still not heard from Garry O'Connor whose international career now looks over.

Smith said: "I was at Celtic Park for the Benfica game and I saw Rangers play Livorno on television. Both did exceptionally well.

"There are still a number of foreign players in both teams, but the Scottish boys all acquitted themselves very well."

It is hoped this feelgood factor will get more young kids playing football again, a subject close to the Scotland manager's heart.

Smith was at Lesser Hampden yesterday to help launch a joint initiative between Glasgow City Council and the Glasgow Schools' FA which will give more than 200 kids under 13 a chance to play organised league football for the first time.

In recent years, this age group have only played soccer sevens, but will now will take part in league and cup competitions and get professional coaching, with Queen's Park supporting the league.

Glasgow businessman Willie Haughey's company, City Refrigeration Holding, will provide finance to help discover talented young players.

Smith said: "This has been ignored for a long time. There has been a lot of neglect in terms of kids wanting to play football so this will encourage them from an early age."

Taken from the Daily Record