A Hamilton Accies manager expressing surprise about the non-inclusion of one of his players in a Scotland youth squad. Rewind a decade or so and it could be James McCarthy, who was overlooked by Scotland prior to honouring the wishes of his grandad and hitching his colours to Republic of Ireland, but now the player in question is 20-year-old midfielder Greg Docherty. While Docherty already has two Under-21 caps to his name, manager Martin Canning admits he can’t work out why he didn’t make Scot Gemmill’s squad for last night’s meeting against the Netherlands at New St Mirren Park. Docherty too qualifies for the Irish and is eligible to change allegiance but those with an investment in Scottish football must hope that history doesn’t repeat itself.

“It does puzzle me to an extent,” said Canning, of an all purpose midfielder who has helped the Accies sit fourth in the Premiership ahead of Friday’s meeting with Celtic and recently signed a new three-year deal. “I actually phoned Scot [Gemmill, the coach] to have a chat with him because in my opinion Greg should be involved given the season he’s had so far and they way he finished last season. It’s not my decision and I wouldn’t want someone calling me telling me who to pick for my team. I just wanted to make sure he knew he was eligible and worth looking at.

“Scott McMann deserves a bit of recognition too,” added Canning. “The first game of his run was at Celtic away last December when we lost 1-0 and he has been consistently one of our better players since. Scot said he’d keep an eye on both. He’s seen Greg before but it’s his call to make. From a selfish point of view it’s beneficial they are fit and fresh for us for Celtic on Friday, but the kids want to represent their country.”