FORGET the past. Discard those suspicions. Warren Gatland insists that next year’s British and Irish Lions squad will be chosen on merit, and that a significant number of Scots will be in contention for a seat on the plane to New Zealand.

Granted, there is all the difference in the world between being in contention and actually getting selected, and the fact Gatland only chose three Scots for his original squad in 2013 goes some way to explaining the lack of enthusiasm that his reappointment this week engendered north of the Border. So too does his track record of selecting a large number of Welshmen - 15 in the last squad, as opposed to 10 from England, nine from Ireland and that trio of Scots.

There are at least two mitigating factors, however, to suggest that at least for the time being we should take the head coach at his word and accept that favouritism will play no part in the choices he makes next spring. One is that Gatland, who has again taken a sabbatical from his post as Wales head coach to devote himself full-time to the Lions, is far from being the first man in charge of the tourists to select a negligible number of Scots. The other is that our national side has hardly turned in the sort of consistent performances needed to propel its members into consideration en masse.

In the 1997 tour to South Africa, the first after rugby union went professional, Tom Smith, Alan Tait and Gregor Townsend all played in the first two, victorious Tests against the Springboks. Rob Wainwright played in the third Test, while Tony Stanger was brought in during the tour as an injury replacement.

That number was replicated four years later, although only Smith played in the first Test against the Wallabies,which the Lions won before losing the next two. In the three tours since then, our representation has dropped to four, with the members of that quartet usually playing marginal roles.

So if Gatland does have any disinclination to choose Scottish players, he is not alone in that regard. And in any case, if we are looking for a reason behind that supposed disinclination, a glance at the Six Nations table year by year should provide it.

With the Autumn Tests and this year’s Championship still to be played, the members of Vern Cotter’s squad have every chance to play their way into selection, according to Gatland. Indeed, the Lions coach suggested that, as has been the tourists’ custom, a couple of uncapped players could also put their hands up.

“I know there was a lot of debate last time about the number of Scottish players, and the pleasing thing for me is that there’s a genuine number of Scottish players that have put their hand up to be in contention to be selected,” he said. “I think that’s positive.

“It may be one or two players that are not in the international set-up, that may be playing for their clubs, who could come into consideration. So that’s a potential.”

Gatland plans an initial squad of 38 to 40, but is also thinking of drafting in others just before the first Test. With Scotland on tour in Australia at the same time, that could mean another opportunity to increase our representation, even if it is only for one midweek game.

“To have a chance of winning in New Zealand, the first Test is key,” he said. “And protecting players - protecting your starting 15, maybe your 23, for the first Test.

“The game before the first Test is against the Chiefs on the Tuesday, three days after the game against the Maori. A good number of the home nations will be touring at the same time, so there’s a possibility that we may bring in a few players just to maybe sit on the bench, to be involved in that game against the Chiefs but not be part of the tour. We did that with Shane Williams last time in the game we lost against the Brumbies. That made all the difference and gave us the opportunity to win the first Test.

“I’ve spoken to the board about potentially doing that. It may not come to pass if we don’t get any injuries. It’s just a consideration at the moment.”

Another possibility for Scottish involvement comes at coaching level. It remains to be seen whether Townsend could begin his reign as national coach with a leave of absence which permits him to become Lions backs coach, but Scotland defence/breakdown coach Richie Gray is only under contract until the end of the Six Nations so would definitely be available to be part of a coaching squad which may be one larger than on previous tours.

“There’s a lot of people that will come into contention,” Gatland said when asked if he had already thought about taking the likes of Rob Howley, his deputy for Wales, and Townsend. “Probably from 2013 I would look to add another coach. Just to take a bit of pressure off the other coaches, so every coach isn’t taking every session. It’s very tough mentally.

“You want some continuity, and one or two fresh faces to bring something different to the environment. Some of the people you’ve mentioned would potentially come into consideration.”

Finally, as if to emphasise the point that he is genuinely open-minded at this stage, Gatland admitted that a discussion on social media about Lions candidates after the first league matches of the season had highlighted his need to do more research. “Some of them put out the Test team [based on] their performance after the first round of games. There’s a couple of names in there I didn’t even recognise, so I’ve got to go and do my homework as well.”