Ryan Gauld has urged Ben Doak to block out the noise surrounding his undoubtedly exciting future in the game.
Dubbed as the 'mini Messi' of Scotland when coming through as a teenage sensation at Dundee United and thereafter in Portugal following his transfer to Sporting Lisbon, Gauld himself has personal experience of what it's like to deal with such weighty expectations from fans, and the wider public.
Doak, 19, was outstanding on the right wing against Croatia on Friday night.
The Ayrshire-lad tore Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol to shreds on several occasions, as he went at the left-back time and time again.
For the umpteenth time on the night, it was Doak's movement to the byline before crossing the ball that led to John McGinn's all-important winner for Scotland, as they chased down second place in their Nations League group.
He was given a rousing reception by the Hampden faithful after being substituted for Stuart Armstrong in the final minutes of the 1-0 victory.
“Aye, absolutely," Gauld responded when asked if Doak - on loan at Middlesbrough from Liverpool - can handle the growing hype about him. "He'll just take it in his stride.
"As much as I'm sure he knows, there's a lot on his game that he can work on.
"He's got a big future ahead of him if he keeps up the way he's been playing so far.
"You just need to shut it out. Don't listen to it as much as possible.
"Just focus on football, play your game and listen to the ones round about you at your club and do what you can to get better.
“It was just noise, I guess. I tried not to think too much about it.
"Obviously, I was young and in a different country, so it was nice to not understand everything that was being said. I could just try and focus on the football."
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Gauld made an impact on the left wing after he was brought on in place of Ryan Christie after 65 minutes.
Since forcing his way back into Steve Clarke's thinking in September following loud calls for a refresh of the A-team squad, Gauld had made a few appearances as an impact sub.
While starting in the next match against Poland would be nice, it's not something he's overthinking.
He said: "I don't think about starting or playing however many minutes.
"I just do what I can to try and help to win, whether it's coming on and we're needing a goal or coming on to defend a result.
“We've just all got to do our bit to try and get a result.”
