Robbie Neilson insists Gordon Strachan was right to overlook his exciting young Hearts players for the latest Scotland squad.
But the Tynecastle head coach plans to help the likes of Sam Nicholson, Callum Paterson and Jordan McGhee become impossible to ignore in the future.
Strachan included Rangers playmaker Lewis Macleod in his 27-man pool for the matches against the Republic of Ireland and England.
Meanwhile, Hearts goalkeeper Jack Hamilton, defenders Paterson and McGhee and highly-rated winger Nicholson had to settle for a place in the Under-21 squad for a November 18 friendly in Switzerland.
But Neilson is happy with that. He said: "We have a lot of players in the Under-21 squad, which is great for us. They have to go through the stages and it's important they don't jump too soon into the national team.
"I think doing it gradually is good for them; hopefully they go away with the 21s, get a game and get that bit of experience that they will bring back into the team here.
"They still have a long way to go. We've had a good start to the season, but we keep up the consistency.
"The young lads still have a lot of aspects to their game that they need to work on and they know that.
"We know it too and we're going to try and help them. Hopefully in a few years they will be able to get into the national team and stay there.
"But at the moment they're still young players who need to develop."
Darren Johnstone
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