GORON Strachan, as is the Scotland manager’s wont, declined to join the rest of the football world and offer his thoughts on Karamoko Dembele as he spoke to the media ahead of the Euro 2016 qualifier with Lithuania yesterday.

Yet Strachan, in his own roundabout kind of way, did have some sage words of advice for the prodigiously-gifted 13-year-old who has been the talk of the Scottish, and indeed British, game this week after making a brief appearance for the Celtic Under-20 team.

The Ivory Coast-born Glasgow-raised kid will now have to deal with massive expectation and intense scrutiny as he bids to make it as a professional following his brief outing as a substitute at Cappielow on Monday night.

Many players who have been tipped for superstardom at such an early age have struggled to fulfil their potential and lost their way. Islam Feruz, who became the youngest ever Scotland Under-21 cap at the age of 16 in 2012, is a perfect example. He was last heard of playing for a club called Excel Mouscron in Belgium.

Strachan, though, feels that any aspiring footballer could do worse than use Darren Fletcher, the Scotland captain who is set to make his 75th international appearance at Hampden this evening, as a role model in the years to come.

“There are great examples for kids now if they want to see them, if they can see through the nonsense that is thrown in front of their faces,” he said.

“Darren Fletcher? There is not a tattoo on his body, he doesn’t walk about with big head-phones on, he hasn’t got a cockatoo hairstyle and he doesn’t wear outrageous shoes. He just wants to play football. He is a smashing advert for any kid.

“He is great for us because you just need to see him walking about. Shaun Maloney is the same, James McArthur is the same. Young players can look at these guys – fantastic role models.

“He is fantastic for the younger players in our squad. I don’t think there has ever been a negative headline about Darren. He never causes any problems. All he wants is to be a football player, he doesn’t want to be a celebrity.

“He isn’t tweeting, he isn’t on Instagram, you don’t see his face in silly positions every now and then. You have examples out there. It is up to you as a young footballer.”

Strachan added: “I the first thing you want to be is a good footballer then you become a good team-mate – that is what Darren is. If you can be a great player, fantastic. If you can be a great player and a great team-mate then you’ve cracked it.

“Rachael Yankey (England women’s internationalist) was on TV the other day and I did think that she was a terrific example for young women. She looked healthy, she spoke well, you could see football has helped her to be that. I thought she was terrific and a great example.

“Or you can go along the TOWIE way. There are examples out there and it is which ones you choose.”

Fletcher, the Dalkeith-born midfielder who made his debut for his country in friendly against Norway way back in 2003, has certainly had to overcome a great deal in his career to reach the landmark of 75 caps.

The former Manchester United man,who currently plies his trade for West Brom in the Barclays Premier League, has spent two lengthy spells out of football due to ulcerative colitis and struggled to win back his place in the team from Scott Brown after returning from his last sabbatical.

The mature way the 32-year-old has coped with the setbacks and endured the difficult times in his career to reach this milestone has impressed his manager greatly.

“You can never write players off, but I did know that there were going to be good challenges for him,” said Strachan. “But he has accepted those challenges. These are the challenges that you get in life which make you stronger and then when you go into management you have been to these places and you can tell people what it is all about.

“You have these crisis points in your career – and he has had a few – then you deal with them. And what you see now is a guy sitting in front if you getting his 75th cap and looking as healthy as anyone and I don’t think he has missed a game for West Brom since he signed. Did we expect anything less?”

Only Kenny Dalglish (102), Jim Leighton (91), Alex McLeish (77) and Paul McStay (76) have won more caps for the national team than Fletcher. Strachan, true to form, was reluctant to speculate on where his skipper ranks in the pantheon of Scotland legends.

But he and his players are certainly grateful he is part of the squad as they enter what is an important fixture as they bid to qualify for the World Cup finals in Russia in two years’ time.

“I am just glad he is here,” he said. “He is a great player, but he is a great lad and that is the most important thing. If I was a footballer I would want my team-mates to speak highly of me more than anything else and if you asked his team-mates then I think they would tell you he is an all-time great.”