Celtic and Rangers stars used as examples by Sebastien Pocognoli as Scotland boss makes Old Firm request

Sebastien Pocognoli would like to see more young Scottish players given a chance at Celtic and Rangers, while drawing on the recent success of Hoops defender Colby Donovan and Gers winger Findlay Curtis.

The Scotland boss is preparing his side for their upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures against North Macedonia and Switzerland. In his squad, Kieran Tierney is the only Celtic player whose been chosen as Donovan was picked for the Under-21s, meanwhile for Rangers, Curtis, Liam Kelly and James Penrice have all been enlisted.

With no Celtic or Rangers players starting in any of Pocognoli’s first four matches as boss during the last international break, the Belgian has explained the reason for this is simply a lack of options. Since Hoops captain Callum McGregor retired from international football, only Donovan and Tierney remain regular Parkhead starters in national team selection contention. At Rangers, AEK Athens loanee Penrice is the only nailed-on starter, however Curtis is often used as an option from the bench.

Celtic and Rangers youngsters used as example for Scotland success

Pocognoli is encouraged that young players have been able to make their way through the academy on both sides of Glasgow - but would like to see more. He said: "The Scottish league misses Scottish players in the biggest teams. The league is intense and competitive, but I am not looking at this, I am looking at who is performing at the big clubs. I believe that’s the closest level to international level.

"Colby Donovan is a good example, he played some good games for Celtic, and I tried to help to accelerate his progress, then he signed a new contract and plays week after week. For Findlay Curtis it’s the same, he’s not playing a lot at Rangers, but I believe in his quality. We need to support those types of players because we need them, but hopefully it can help his pathway at Rangers to get some minutes."

Pocognoli compares Scotland to Europe in youngsters claim

The Scotland boss reckons that not only the Old Firm clubs should be given more young players a chance, but also the rest of the Premiership as whole. Pocognoli thinks Scotland are lagging behind several European countries in this area.

He continued: "It’s not easy because if you look at the Scottish competition there’s not many young lads who are getting an opportunity to shine compared to Belgium, France, Germany. I try to take all the opportunities I have to support this and hopefully we can see the benefits in future."

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