Scotland is fortunate to have two top young talents in the Premiership – and we should enjoy them while they’re here.
That’s the feeling of Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes.
The 52-year-old brought David Watson into his first team a little under a year ago with the midfielder making himself a mainstay in the starting XI, despite his recent appearances from the bench.
The teenager has scored vital goals against Celtic and Aberdeen in recent months for the Rugby Park club, as the 19-year-old looks to build on an already promising start to his career.
Lennon Miller has equally caught the eye of many after his stunning breakthrough campaign at Motherwell.
The 17-year-old’s turn to get away from both Callum McGregor and Matt O’Riley against Celtic in the game at Fir Park on February 25 certainly earned him plenty of attention from fans and pundits.
Discourse appears to have started over which of the emerging talents will be crowned Scotland’s Young Player of the Year come the end of the season in May. McInnes won’t get caught up in the result of that discussion, though, preferring to focus on where Watson’s career could be headed.
“I genuinely don’t think it’s that important in terms of who gets that particular accolade,” the Killie boss said. “Both of those boys have done really well this season.
“We are delighted with Davie. He’s done everything we’ve asked of him and met every challenge. When we first came in, he was 16. We got him training with the first team every day and we exposed him to that.
“He was then captain of the U-18s team, captain of the reserve team – and he’ll probably end up being the captain of our first team at some point.
READ MORE: Stuart Findlay addresses possible permanent Kilmarnock move
“He did it briefly last week and I’ve no doubts he’ll do it a lot more often in the future. His development has been different class. We’ve got good options in central midfield.
“We’ve got two boys missing just now who started the season really well for us, [Kyle] Magennis and [Brad] Lyons.”
With Steve Clarke set to name his Scotland squad for their upcoming international friendlies against The Netherlands and Northern Ireland, McInnes was asked if Danny Armstrong could be in with an outside chance of being selected.
Revealing that the winger can also turn out for the Republic of Ireland, McInnes pointed out that Stuart Findlay had returned to the form that saw him earn a cap for his country back in 2019.
He said: “Stevie has been pretty consistent and loyal to the players who have got Scotland to the Euros. There maybe won’t be too many spaces up for grabs, but who knows?
“It’s good that we’ve even got boys in that sort of conversation for the national team. Danny’s been really consistent for us for a while now. It’s that consistency that normally elevates you over a period of time.
“I actually think Stuart Findlay is playing every bit as well now as he was when he was in the Scotland squad and was capped a few years ago. He’s been outstanding for us this season.”
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