Under-21s: Back to the start for Stark after unhappy ending

Graeme Macpherson

Football Writer

Thursday 11 October 2012

IT all begins again this week for Billy Stark and his Scotland Under-21 side.

Ryan Jack is one of the more experienced members of the squad

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Graeme Macpherson

Having come so close to reaching the play-offs for next summer's European Championships, only falling short in the final match in Austria, the foundations for the next campaign will be laid in Spain when Stark's new-look side play two friendlies, against the USA tomorrow and then Canada on Monday.

With a group comprising several players from the last campaign, as well as a number who have graduated from the under-19 squad, Stark will use the week in Marbella to run an eye over them all ahead of the start of the qualifiers for the 2015 finals. "If you get them together [in Scotland] you're at the mercy of the weather and facilities and the like," said Stark. "Going over there, there are tremendous facilities and we get to play top-level opposition who are at the same stage as us [in their development]. It all fits. Results in friendlies aren't the most important thing but they breed confidence. So we won't be taking it lightly, we'll be wanting to win both games."It's about getting a look at one or two players and trying to establish a template that can hopefully work for us. All their clubs will play different ways so we want to get into them what we want to achieve as a team."Talk of experienced players at under-21 level seems like something of an oxymoron, although there are some with greater knowledge of what is required than others. Falling into the former category is Ryan Jack. Given that the versatile Aberdeen player has 10 caps to his name, he would be among the more obvious candidates to captain Stark's men and pass on his experience."I was probably one of the youngest in the last team that played so to go from that to being one of the oldest is strange but I'm looking forward to starting the campaign," said Jack. "Obviously, I've had a bit of experience so anything I can do that would help I'd be more than happy to do. If I was asked to be captain I'd be delighted. It would be a big honour, probably the biggest I've had in my career. I usually talk on the pitch anyway but you'd maybe need to help the younger ones that need advice. I'd be more than willing to do that anyway, so it wouldn't make a difference."Jack, pictured, believes being a part of the international set-up has improved him as a player at club level. "You learn a lot of things here, playing with players in my age group who are the best in the country. It's been really good for experience and in helping me along."

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Under-21s: Back to the start for Stark after unhappy ending

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