Former Hibs star turns shock Scotland wildcard as boss makes case for national team involvement

A Premiership manager has made the case for a former Hibs striker to turn a wildcard option for Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad.

The national team will face Greece in Nations League play-off matches this month. Up front, he has former Hibs forward Kevin Nisbet now with Aberdeen, Hearts’ teenage star James Wilson, Middlesbrough man Tommy Conway and Torino’s Che Adams.

Regulars in Lydon Dykes and Lawrence Shankland are not involved this time with debate emerging who will step up and become the nation’s next big hope in attack. Dundee boss Tony Docherty reckons Simon Murray would have been a good fit for this month’s camp.

Former Hibs striker reasoning

Murray returned to Dundee in the summer after a prolific stint at Ross County and has netted 16 times for the Dens Park club in his second spell. The 32-year-old spent between 2017-18 at Hibs, scoring 14 goals in 28 games and has made himself a reliable figure for goals at Premiership level. Docherty reckons he is national team calibre.

He said: “Simon has been brilliant and I was a bit disappointed for him in terms of a Scotland call-up. I know it sounds ridiculous, but in terms of the goals he's contributed this season, and last season at Ross County, his numbers have been brilliant. Plus we're short of strikers.

"Simon has taken on a new role since he came here in the summer. He's an experienced player and he's developed from it. But his enthusiasm, that's the biggest thing about him. Simon's such a brilliant character, and that's why we worked so hard to make sure we got him at the club."

Keep the faith

Docherty has urged the former Hibs man to keep believing in national duties. He added: “They should all set themselves targets like that. I'm really encouraged this week that we've got call-ups. Aaron Donnelly getting into the full Northern Ireland squad at 21 is brilliant for him and the club. The same goes for Luke Graham and Seun Adewumi, and Cesar Garza has been called up for Mexico's Under-20s too.

"Other ones in the squad, you need to aim as high as you can. But Simon's goal return in the past two seasons has been really strong. To date he's been a huge success, and hopefully he can continue that from now to the end of the season.

"Simon would train every day, and he would stay out there as long as he could too. We need to monitor him and manage him a wee bit in terms of his training. That can be tricky to do because he is really enthusiastic."