SCOTLAND under-21 boss Scot Gemmill has pinpointed Celtic’s Liam Henderson as one of the more experienced figures in his squad after naming 10 new faces for the forthcoming match against Estonia. Henderson is the second-most capped player in the group having played eight times at this level, and will be expected to lead by example as the Scots warm up for this autumn’s European qualifiers with a friendly at the Paisley 2021 Stadium a week on Tuesday.

He said: “I think Liam is another example of a player knowing what is best for them. He is quite experienced even though he is still an under-21 player. He’s experienced and now man enough to make his own decisions, in conjunction with the Celtic management. Brendan Rodgers has obviously spoken to Liam and they must have come up with a plan for him. You have to trust the clubs that they are doing their best for the players.”

The three other Celts in the squad – Jamie McCart, Joe Thomson, and Paul McMullan – are all currently out on loan, as is the lone Ranger of the group, Ryan Hardie. Gemmill reckons it is up to clubs and the players to decide what is the best course of action for them as they look to further their careers.

He added: “I think young players have to go on the guidance of their own clubs and on their instincts. They get a feel for how the pathway is at each club, and they have to be guided by the clubs.

“If you look down the list it seems to be working quite well. Joe Thomson is an example. He played at under-20s level for a couple of season and I think they went unbeaten for 16 months, pretty much winning every game. And then all of a sudden he’s gone on loan, Queen of the South being his second, and he has shown he can do it at first-team level.”

Gemmill believes that at this level the development of young players is more important than results. He added: “I still believe that I have to be brave enough to do that. It’s not about me, it’s about the players and Scotland under-21s trying to develop as many players who will go onto play for the national team. Some people might look at that and question that but I honestly don’t think about the issue from a selfish point of view, I really don’t.”