ANDY Considine is hopeful his performances for Aberdeen since the Qatar 2022 qualifiers in March coupled with increased Euro 2020 squad sizes will ensure he gets a Scotland call-up from Steve Clarke this week.
Clarke will name the 26 players who he will take to the tournament finals next month on Wednesday and Considine is desperate to be among them.
The 34-year-old faces stiff competition for one of the centre half berths from Liam Cooper, Declan Gallagher, Grant Hanley, Jack Hendry and Scott McKenna.
Scott McTominay, the Manchester United midfielder, has also been used in the heart of the defence and was deployed there for the Group F match against the Faroe Islands at the end of March.
However, Considine did well in his three appearances for his country last year, has performed consistently for Aberdeen again this term and is optimistic that he can make the final cut.
He feels that UEFA deciding to increase squad sizes for the finals from 23 to 26 players due to Covid-19 at the start of this month has increased his chances of being selected.
“I’m hopeful,” he said. “It’s outwith my hands. All I could do was do well enough from the March World Cup qualifiers until now. Hopefully I have done well enough to be in the manager’s thoughts to be included in the squad. I am hopeful, but we will wait and see.”
“When you look at the amount of names on paper there is a really, really strong group of boys who are desperate to be involved. I can imagine it is a massive headache for the manager. But it’s great for Scotland.
“It’s outwith my hands. I’ve obviously been delighted to be involved in the last three camps and if that continues, brilliant. Otherwise I’ve had the time of my life being involved in the last three.”
Asked what he would do before the squad announcement, Considine said: “I’ll probably just go out on the golf course and just chill out. It’s been a long year, a long season, and here’s hoping we’re going to start a successful one next season.”
Meanwhile, Considine, who was unable to prevent Aberdeen from crashing to a 4-0 defeat to Rangers in their final Premiership game of the 2020/21 season at Ibrox on Saturday, has admitted that he is expecting new manager Stephen Glass to embark on a major rebuild this summer.
“It’s a big transition period we’re going through,” he said. “The new manager has come in and there will be a lot of changes. We will lose close to 11, 12, 13 players so it’s a big rebuilding job to be done.
“A lot of the boys have been here for a good number of years. We have a good bit of youth coming through as well. There have been a lot of changes, but over the last four or five games there have been a lot of positives to take from the new manager and how he’s wanting to play. It bodes well for next season, but there will be so many changes it’s starting from scratch again.”
Glass has already secured the services of Gallagher and Considine admitted he is looking forward to playing with his Scotland team mate next season when the Motherwell defender leaves Fir Park.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play alongside him in the national team so I know what he’s all about and I’m delighted he’s on board,” he said.
“He’s a real leader. He’s vocal, he’s strong, he’s good in the air, he’s good on the ball. I think it’s a brilliant addition. I am really excited to have Declan, fingers crossed, alongside me.”
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