Celtic player left 'the most embarrassed I have ever been' after featuring during international calamity

Matthew Anderson says playing in Scotland U21s 6-1 defeat to Iceland at the Pinatar Cup was a career low point.

The Hoops’ full-back, who is currently out on a second loan spell at Austrian second-tier outfit Admira Wacker, admitted the heavy loss was an eye-opener for the new-look group. Hearts attacker Finlay Pollock was sent off in Murcia but in truth the young Scots were simply outclassed and out-fought on Tuesday afternoon. He got a second yellow after 74 minutes. Ryan One grabbed Scotland’s goal to make it 3-1 at the start of the second half.

Qualifiers for the U21 European Championships begin in early September - and Scot Gemmell’s job is finally under some intense scrutiny after failing to get to a major tournament since taking on the role back in 2016.

The last time the U21s conceded six goals was when they were beaten 6-1 at home to the Netherlands in 2014. And it doesn’t get any easier with Scotland in Group B alongside Portugal, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan and Gibraltar for the upcoming qualifiers.

Celtic ace admits frosty dressing room atmosphere after damning Iceland defeat

"I walked off the pitch embarrassed — it was easily the most embarrassed I have ever been in my short career,” Anderson said following the defeat, which rounded off a friendly camp in Spain.

"We all knew it in the dressing room. Everyone sat in complete silence. Even if it was a friendly, that kind of result can't happen. And we know we need to do much better so we are OK for the qualifiers.

"As (head coach) Scot Gemmill said to us after the game, if we ever needed a reminder of the level of the Under-21s that was it.

"We had a lot of players who hadn't played at this level before and it was maybe a shock to them. I felt like Iceland wanted it more and were sharper than us, and the red card killed us too."

Head coach Scot Gemmell says Scotland’s depth at youth level is a concern

Speaking after the defeat, Gemmell didn’t hold back, admitting that there is a “lack of depth” available and that the new players did not impress.

"It was a really embarrassing scoreline and it's disappointing to end the camp like this. The players need to quickly get up to speed with the level because you could see a clear gap between the teams,” he said.

"They were ahead of us in terms of preparation and they have got a very good team. It wasn't a good day. I definitely don't question the players' commitment - at this level there is no room for mistakes and there were too many mistakes today. It's about the players' development and actually in the long term it will help their development because there are a lot of new players playing at this level for the first time and they need to quickly improve.

"There are a lot of new players in the squad and we are trying to assess them and it's fair to say not many did well today, although Finlay Pollock was really good and has taken a step in the right direction in very difficult circumstances. It was 100 per cent not a red card and it was a penalty to Scotland.

“You have to remember there's not a lot of depth when it comes to young players in Scotland - these are the best young players in the country, although there are a few who are not here. These are the players we have to work with and we intend to help them. We have shown in the past we can compete with the best but we have to do it consistently and every error was punished there. It's part of the process.”