Alex Gogic has tipped Ryan Porteous to become a Scotland mainstay for years to come under the leadership of Steve Clarke.
The Watford defender made his first Hampden start for his national team against Cyprus on Saturday as Scotland got their European qualification off to a winning start with a 3-0 victory.
Porteous was solid at the back alongside Grant Hanley and Kieran Tierney in a back three and Clarke could opt for the same defensive set-up against Spain on Tuesday.
Gogic lined up against his former Hibernian teammate on Saturday as he impressed for Cyprus in their defence, and he believes the 24-year-old has a huge future ahead of him.
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He explained: “I am pleased for Porto to get his first start at Hampden - he is doing amazing. It is always nice to see guys you have played alongside do well for their country.
“When he has played for Scotland he has done well but he is also doing it at Watford as well. He had his critics sometimes when he was Hibs but he is a smart guy.
“Maybe some people don’t like how he puts himself about but that’s what makes him Porto. He is down south and doing amazing because of that and he was brilliant for Scotland on Saturday.
“I can see him being a mainstay for Scotland for years if he keeps playing like that. He is so mature for someone his age. He has pace, he can tackle and he can pass as well.
“At Hibs he would send balls into Kevin Nisbet and turn defence into attacks. I would never tell him to calm down on the park. He is who he is and there is no point trying to change him.
“You let him do his thing and you want a player like him in every team. You don’t want everyone in the side to be nice and friendly, especially not the defenders. They need to be old school.”
He continued: “You need them to have that nasty streak in them and he has that. But he has the ability to play too. I think though you have seen him recently he has matured.
“He is focusing on his football, especially going down south, living by himself, he is focusing on football. He got the chance to go to Watford and he has grabbed it.
“He knows what he has to do. At Hibs he would do extra training to improve and people outside the club didn’t see that. He has got his rewards for his hard work and I am not surprised by his success.
“To play at the top level these days you need to put in the hard work. If you have the talent you still need to work on your game and he does that.”
Gogic was disappointed with the result at Hampden Park on Saturday and he reckons the 3-0 final scoreline flattered Scotland.
He explained: “I think it was quite a tight game but towards the end we gifted two sloppy goals. Our concentration dropped but we changed formation and the space opened up for Scotland.
“For the first goal it nicked off me and it was so close to being offside. In the first half we didn’t start as well in terms of attacking but in the second half we were better.
“We are playing Armenia in a friendly tomorrow so we have to look to correct the mistakes we had and try to get a positive result.
“We have to recover and pick ourselves up again. There will be games we can do some damage. The gaffer said to us at the end of the game that the last two goals were a gift to Scotland.
“We shouldn’t let our concentration levels drop.”
On Scotland’s chances against Spain on Tuesday, Gogic added: “Scotland got off to the perfect start and they now have a hard game against Spain. They didn’t create a lot of chances against us.
“When they scored the first goal they didn’t need to chase the game and we kept them quiet. Spain is a different type of game and maybe they might be more defensive and try to hit Spain on the counter.
“Are they capable of beating Spain? I think it is 90 minutes, 11 against 11 and if you win your battles anything can happen. Steve Clarke has done an amazing job as Scotland boss.”
