Scotland’s failure to reach the World Cup knockout rounds this summer sparked a fresh debate about how this country can produce more players who are capable of performing on the international stage.
Yet, there are still no obvious solutions to what has become a serious problem in the sport here in modern times.
Perhaps Graeme Shinnie’s move in to coaching at Inverness Caledonian Thistle, though, will help a few promising kids to negotiate the difficult transition from the youth ranks to the senior game and then flourish at the very highest level in the seasons to come.
Shinnie is a shining example to every aspiring professional footballer on these shores.
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He broke through at the Highland outfit as a callow teenager, overcame a potentially career-ending illness, played in the Premiership, won lucrative moves to Aberdeen, Derby County and Wigan Athletic and was capped six times by Scotland.
The only man ever to captain two different clubs to Scottish Cup glory – he did so with Caley Thistle in 2015 and Aberdeen in 2025 - has met every challenge he has faced in his career head on and maximised his physical attributes and ability.
The midfielder, who turns 35 on Tuesday, has no intention of retiring from playing quite yet. As he sat in the Orion Suite at the Sarens PSG Stadium after training on Monday afternoon and talked about his return to Inverness and the season that lies ahead, his enthusiasm was obvious.
Still, Shinnie is very much looking forward to passing on his knowledge to the youngsters in the age-group sides in Inverness and is hopeful he has much to offer the next generation in his new role.
“Youth development is such a difficult topic,” he said. “If someone had the answers the current issues we are having in Scotland it would change. Is it down to the way we play here? Our game is unique. It is a tricky subject.
“Don’t get me wrong, we've had a lot of good players come through, Premier League players like Ryan Christie, John McGinn and Andy Robertson. So we have definitely got good players there as a country.
“But do we have flair players, creative players, wingers? Ben Doak and Findlay Curtis have obviously done well and have got great potential. But we have very few and other countries have a lot. It's something that we should try to change if we can, but it's a complex one.
“I'm going to get involved in the coaching here and I am going to do a lot with the youth players. I love that side of the game. I have the freedom to play and to coach here. If I have to travel to watch games during the week I will. We will see where it goes, but I am definitely looking forward to it. I hope I can make a difference.”
Shinnie is well aware he will not be able to take the same uncompromising approach with his young charges which his mentor Terry Butcher often did with him when he was breaking through at Caley Thistle as a kid.
He will be forever indebted to Butcher. He feared that Crohn’s disease would end his playing days at the age of just 18 when he was forced to have an 11 hour operation to remove parts of his bowel and his colon and drain three abscesses.
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The England legend visited him regularly in hospital and assured him a place was waiting for him in his team when he recovered. The former Rangers centre-half, however, could be a formidable taskmaster.
“Terry is a manager who I will always hold close to my heart,” said Shinnie. “He gave me my debut and did a lot for me outside of football as well, not least during my illness, which will stay with me.
“But he could be tough to play for. In one of my early games, I was beaten to a header at the back post and allowed a 6ft 3in giant to score. I didn't feel I could have done very much about it. But the gaffer absolutely destroyed me afterwards.
“After that, I switched on to the fact I can't lose a goal at the back post. It made me aware that if I'm part of a first team then I can't, whether I'm 35 or I'm 18, be weak and always need to show my strength.
“Terry was very old school. If you hadn’t played well you always headed back into the dressing room after a game thinking, ‘It's going to get loud here’. But I loved that. I needed someone to shout at me because it fired me up and the more fired up I got the better I was. That was my personality.”
He added, “But football is different now. There's a huge focus on the mental side to the game. In this modern era, you've got to be more aware of who can handle that sort of treatment and who can't, you’ve got to be conscious of whether people need an arm around their shoulder or a rocket up their backside.
“Football has changed a lot. Trying to drag youth players through is a bit harder now. They tend to be a bit more laid back these days. Sometimes that don't have that drive, that dig, in them at all. The ones that do have that are the ones who tend to get on.
“Ryan Christie is an excellent example of that. His quality was always there. But when he came through here at Inverness as a young boy, he was desperate to do well too. He would run his heart out, he would fight, he would scrap. I sometimes think that's hard to come by now in younger players.”
Shinnie, who has played in every minute of Caley Thistle’s four Premier Sports Cup games so far this season and is set to start in the William Hill Championship opener against Dunfermline at home this afternoon, senses that same hunger in the youngsters who have followed him from Aberdeen to Inverness, Alfie Bavidge, Ryan Duncan and Alfie Stewart.
“They’ve definitely got that in them,” he said. “You've seen that in the matches they've played so far. When I signed here this summer, I did my utmost to get the two Alfies back on loan because they were such a huge part of the club last season, a huge part of the dressing room. We know what Ryan can do as well. I think they will be huge for us.”
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Shinnie was convinced that he could have continued to contribute to Aberdeen’s cause under Stephen Robinson during the 2026/27 campaign and beyond and it pained him when he was unable to reach an agreement on a new deal with the club where he spent seven-and-a-half seasons during two separate spells.
“The manager there wanted his own players in,” he said. “That's been clear to see with the midfielders he's brought in. But that's fine. It's the way football goes sometimes.
“It was difficult. I thought that was where my career would end because of everything I had there. But I knew where I was at. The manager openly stated in the media that I wasn't going to play every game.
“But I still felt I had a lot to offer. I played three games last week and helped the side to keep three clean sheets. That shows where I’m at physically. I was injury-free last season, my body's in good shape still, my numbers are high running-wise.
“I am very good friends with the manager here [Scott Kellacher] and he was desperate to get me in. That was a big factor in the move. I had Aberdeen kind of half wanting me, saying I wasn’t going to be playing as much. It was all a bit negative. But the manager here wanted me to be a big part of the team and to play a lot of games.”
Shinnie, who now manages his Crohn’s through diet alone having given up the medication he took daily a few years ago, has seen many footballers play on well into their fourth decade by looking after themselves properly and dedicating themselves to their profession. He intends to emulate them and inspire those around him.
“There's been a few,” he said. “But the one who stands out for me was Phil Jagielka. He came in to Derby when he was 40, but he was still very good. The club wasn’t in the best position financially, but he conducted himself incredibly. Curtis Davies was another one. He played until he was 39. They were two amazing role models.
“But even when I was here at Inverness as a youngster we had Stuart Golabek and Roy McBain. They were coming to the latter stages of their careers, but were still giving everything for the cause, were still desperate to do well.
“I'm no different to them. I don't just want to keep playing games, I want to perform as well as I can personally. If I'm not performing to a standard that's acceptable, then I don't expect to be playing. My form needs to be good enough. But I feel like I've been playing well. Long may that continue.
“The guys I mentioned were all leaders. It wasn’t necessarily how they lived their lives that struck me, it was the leadership they gave the group. They passed on their experience to the younger players. Don't get me wrong, they were still very good footballers, but they had a lot of leadership qualities.
“A lot of people look to older players. It can be for advice, it can be for help in life outside of football, it can be for anything. That's something that I quite enjoy. If players need advice from me then I'm always there for them.”
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Shinnie, a combative competitor who has developed a reputation in Scottish football for being something of a master of the dark arts, confessed that he is looking forward to playing games without VAR in the second tier this season.
“It's so difficult to be the player I was before when VAR is in use,” he said. “To play the way I played is a bit too risky now. You don't get away with nothing now.
“Refereeing is one of the hardest jobs in football - especially when they've got me moaning at them! But do you know what? I think the referees here do an amazing job. It's very, very difficult for them.
“Look at the St Mirren goal that was chopped off at the weekend against Dunfermline. I felt that it was a goal. I don't think VAR would have ruled that out. It can be very worthy and help with big decisions. But I am looking forward to playing without it.
“When you score a goal now in a game without VAR you know it's a goal. When you've got VAR you have to wait until it gets checked. The emotion can be taken out of it a little bit for me. I’ll probably have a moan at the decisions we don't get, but, nah, I’m looking forward having that passion and fire back.”
Shinnie has lost none of his desire. The fact that he is still playing 17 years after he was almost forced to give up on his dream of becoming a professional footballer rightly gives him enormous satisfaction. It will be interesting to see where his return to Inverness Caledonian Thistle takes him.
“I feel lucky,” he said. “I am maybe underplaying the work I have done optimising my body and looking after my health. I am big into nutrition, it’s a passion of mine.
“Alcohol can be a real killer so I don't drink much. I’ll have a blowout every now and again, but very rarely. Some foods will go in and come out just as quickly. You kind of learn what to eat and what to avoid over time.
“But chronic fatigue is one of the big parts of the illness. Sometimes I'll get home after training and will be wiped out. It's a case of lying and resting until your body recovers. You also need to try to stay away from stress which wasn't an easy thing at Aberdeen last season.
“This illness can be really debilitating and harsh so I do still feel lucky to be playing. I’m still really enjoy stepping out over the white line and performing on the pitch. The joy you get when you win games never disappears.”
