STEVE Clarke has admitted he was delighted to see Lennon Miller captain Motherwell in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final on Sunday – but stated he will not rush the teenage midfielder into his Scotland squad.
Clarke was at Hampden for the last four match between Motherwell and Rangers and was impressed that Fir Park manager Stuart Kettlewell chose Miller, who only turned 18 in August, to don the skipper’s armband.
But the national team manager, whose charges take on Croatia and Poland in their final Nations League Group A1 double header this month, is wary of asking too much of the youngster too soon.
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“It's good for Lennon, it's good for his club,” he said. “He's another one, a young one, that everybody wants to hype and push. It's important to let young players grow. So let's just allow Lennon a little bit of time and space to grow up more than well.
“It makes my job easier if there are players pushing for a call up because you want to have as many difficult choices as you can. You want to have as many good players as you can. So the more young ones that are coming through, the better it is for everybody in Scotland.
“It's already been mentioned in one of the reports that came out recently [the Transition Phase paper that the SFA published in May] that we don't produce enough young players, so hopefully we can in the future.”
“He's done really well,” he said. “I was impressed with Connor yesterday. He was a good player for Rangers yesterday. He's been good any time I've watched him this year. He’s obviously been in the squads before. He shows a good attitude. He knows he's still working and learning the game, but it's been pleasing. I'm really pleased with Connor.”
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Elsewhere, Clarke confirmed that Celtic winger James Forrest, who withdrew from the last camp due to an injury, had not been selected because of the impact Liverpool player Ben Doak, who is on loan at Middlesbrough this season, made in the games against Croatia and Portugal last month.
“The boys that were playing last month did well,” he said. “Obviously, James pulled out the squad with a slight injury and Ben got his chance. I thought Ben took it quite well, so I'll stick with Ben.”
