Hearts player puts club before country with key decision on Scotland

Hearts midfielder Finlay Pollock has chosen to stay with loan club Raith Rovers for tonight’s Scottish Championship match against Partick Thistle rather than join the Scotland Under-21 squad. He will take part in the match at Firhill in front of the BBC Scotland television cameras and then fly to Spain for the second of two Under-21 friendlies.

Scot Gemmill, the Scotland Under-21 coach, named Pollock in his squad for friendlies against Republic of Ireland and Iceland in San Pedro del Pinatar. Tynecastle colleagues Liam McFarlane - currently on loan at East Fife - and Adam Forrester were also called up. Pollock is eager to represent his country but, after discussions with the Raith Rovers manager Barry Robson, opted to prioritise league business.

He is with the Fife club for tonight’s game in Glasgow and will then depart on Saturday to travel to south-east Spain. Scotland Under-21s face Ireland at the Pinatar Arena this evening before taking on Iceland at the same venue on Tuesday. Pollock will be available for the second match.

The energetic 20-year-old is a key part of the Raith side as they aim for a play-off place in the keenly-contested Championship. He scored a well-taken goal in last week’s Fife derby win over Dunfermline, his fifth goal in nine games, and is enjoying playing a forward role under Robson. He will again be a central part of Rovers’ attack against Thistle.

McFarlane and Forrester are with the Scotland Under-21 group as they prepare to face Ireland. Gemmill also intended to call upon Hearts youngster Macaulay Tait for these matches but his loan at Livingston has taken precedence. Tait decided to remain with the West Lothian club as they prepare for a vital fixture in their Championship promotion bid on Tuesday night against Falkirk.

James Wilson’s Scotland call-up for Greece Nations League tie affected U21 plans

Gemmill included 13 new players in total for this camp and would have named Hearts striker James Wilson in the group had he not been fast-tracked to the senior Scotland squad. After six goals in 25 games, the 18-year-old was called up by national coach Steve Clarke for the UEFA Nations League play-off against Greece.

“We were obviously working towards James being involved with the 21s, but it's fantastic Steve's given him his opportunity,” explained Gemmill. “He's another young player who needs to go and really grasp that opportunity. I'm sure he will if he gets it. I think he's very underrated, actually. I think if you look at his game really closely, he's got more than people think. He's quicker than people think. He's stronger than people think. His touch is better than people think. His finishing is better.

“He's brave and playing with good players has obviously really pushed him on. You're very lucky as a young player when you get put in a good team that can really give you an opportunity to influence games. James has been given that opportunity and he's definitely taken it. I'm sure he'll be looking forward to doing the same if he gets minutes for Scotland.

“I think he's shown he can influence games. That is the ultimate test for every player, no matter what position you play. Obviously, when you're at the front of the pitch as a striker, you do get the headlines. You're scoring goals, you're assisting goals. For me, that's the true test. If you can influence games playing in your position, that's the real measure for all the players.”

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