Regardless of whether it puts noses out of joint or not, I think that the SFA are entirely within their right to expect their top players to report for international duty this summer.

The friendly games against Peru and Mexico have caused quite a stir given their proximity to the UEFA Champions League qualifiers. And while I have a degree of sympathy for Celtic and for Brendan Rodgers because of that, the bottom line is that this is an international window and the bulk of top players will reporting for duty with their countries.

I don’t think it is something that anyone should be complaining about.

This is what life is like in the fast lane. If Scotland had made it to the World Cup, as I am sure we all dearly wished they had, then all the players would have been falling over themselves to make it into the squad.

This should not be treated any differently.

I remember covering Scotland and the USA when Craig Levein was in charge of the national team and it was a complete waste of time. It was essentially a Florida break with the chance to get a bit of golf in and Scotland were taken aback that USA had the temerity to take the game seriously.

They hammered us 5-1.

And while we all want to see Celtic in the Champions League again this year, if there is a new Scotland manager in place then does he too not deserve the chance to have an appraisal of his squad ahead of the Nations League games which will just be around the corner?

Neil Lennon came up with a logical way around the lack of a break when he was Celtic manager. As soon as the league was won, and given the lead that Celtic currently have the reality is that they could have the title wrapped up by April, then he gave key players a decent bit of time off.

It is a logical way to address the issue. For many players, especially those who are playing at the very top level, this is the reality of their profession now.

The days of extended breaks are long gone and you have to pick points when you can give players the chance to get some respite.

It is unfair that the national team should appear to come off second best. I think you need to have a commitment to it if the country are going to progress and improve.

Meanwhile, I think that we should applaud the decision by Danny Wilson and Johnny Russell to make the move to head to the States.

I also think that the perception that players leave Britain to go to the States for little more than a fat pay cheque is a nonsense. Both Wilson and Russell have gone for the lifestyle offered and for the challenge presented in the States rather than for money.

Too often our home grown players are content to sit back and go for the safe option so you have to applaud both of them for having a little ambition to go and seek out something else.

Wilson stressed that it was very much a family decision and there is no doubt that the lifestyle has considerable pulling power.

One of the main changes in culture from a playing side of things is the exposure to significant travel. It is a huge continent and you could be on the East Coast for one game before heading onto a five or six hour flight for your next game on a different coast. You can be away for days at a time and there is a feeling that you are on the road a lot but to my mind is a challenging environment and one that more players should think of embracing.

The manner in which people back home are scornful of players who move to America and pour cold water is largely uneducated. Many years ago, and I am going back to the time of Pele and Franz Beckenbauer there was a philosophy of bringing big name players into the game for big money but those days were largely gone with the inception of the MLS in 1996.

They learned a lot of lessons from that and although there have been high profile players who have come, like David Beckham, it was always much more centralised.

And now, most American teams are looking towards young Mexican and Costa Rican talent to bring in. But there is a real feeling that if you get into this league at a young age you can effectively have a career for life.

John Spencer would be a classic example of that. He came over and made it clear that he was on it for the long haul. He is fully settled with his family and is an assistant at San Jose earthquakes.

In any case, I think there will be a few of us keeping an eye on Wilson and Russell to see how they fare over the coming months.