THE almost gaudy romanticism of Ikechi Anya's rise to international football obscures the unanswerable practicality of his inclusion in the Scotland team.
The graduate of such as Halesowen Town and Northampton Town will step on to the plane to Warsaw today as an important part of Gordon Strachan's plans to confound a Polish side that has just beaten Germay.
Anya, once celebrated for a past that included an upbringing in Castlemilk to a father who was a Nigerian research scientist and a mother who was a Romanian economist, now has a remarkable present as a winger for both Watford and Scotland, the land of his birth.
It is the future, though, that holds the most intrigue. At 26, Anya may have come to the party late but he may have to be carted out with the empties. A diminutive ball-player, he would be considered the first to be discarded on foreign fields when results have to be achieved through graft and discipline.
Yet there is every reason for supposing that Anya will earn his eighth cap against Poland tomorrow. Strachan's gameplan must include a strategy for stretching Poland at the back and the Watford player has shown, most dramatically in Dortmund, that he can test defences with his speed and finishing.
"There will be more space to break in Poland because Georgia had their gameplan and sat deep," said Anya. "The Poland game should be the type of match that suits me if the gaffer decides to include me. If he wants to hit them on the counter attack obviously my pace might be good."
The Scotland team has a hardcore of English Premier League players, complemented by Scott Brown of Celtic. Strachan has been forced to pick Sky Bet Championship players in the centre of defence because there are no viable Premier league options in either Scotland or England. But Anya prospers in an area when Strachan could revert to a more conservative style and include in Warsaw such as James McArthur or Darren Fletcher.
Both could, of course, be involved but not at the expense of Anya. The winger looks forward to the next challenge in Group D.
"It is not the end of the world if we do not get a win but the gaffer has given us confidence that we can," he said. "We feed off that and in the last 18 months the team has continued to progress, progress. We had six unbeaten before we lost to Germany and we are full of belief. We are hopeful we can carry this on to Tuesday and beyond. The manager feeds us that confidence. All the players love the gaffer and and we all want to play for him, we all want to do well for him but not just for him, for the whole country. We have a good team spirit at the the moment."
He has been energised, too, by the support of the Tartan Army. "The big cheer when the national anthem finished was amazing and hopefully we can carry on that good feeling because I am sure the Tartan Army is going to follow us to Poland and it is going to be another good atmosphere.
"The Tartan Army definitely lifts you. Sometimes when you are on the pitch you can hear the whole crowd roar in anticipation and that gives you the edge to try to do something better."
Something more difficult than a home win over Georgia has to be achieved in Poland but Anya feels that he and his team-mates can prosper in Warsaw. He is not surprised about his rapid ascent, saying: "You just work hard. I have worked really hard and the gaffer knows that. I hope that carries on."
He accepts that the manager made a brave decision in leaving Darren Fletcher out against Georgia but added: "Darren is a quality player but just because he did not play today does not mean he will not play on Tuesday.
"The gaffer obviously thought James [Morrison] and Browny were better in this situation but maybe on Tuesday away from home he might feel Darren is better. He could pick names out of hat, that is the sort of strength in depth in the squad."
It is a stark illustration of a marvellous sporting story that Anya's name is likely to be placed very near the upturned brim of any such hat.
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