If I was in James Forrest’s position I think I might be inclined to take the hump with Scotland.

I mean, what else do you have to do to get into the team? If you score four goals and are one of the best players in the country but can’t get a start for a game against Israel then I think you might be tempted to go and have a think about the situation.

As a former striker, I have to say that I would have loved to have played alongside James. He would have laid goals on a plate for me – and a lot of them too. He has pace, he can get past a man and then his delivery into the back post is always spot on.

I loved playing alongside Alan Thompson and Didier Agathe because they were so good at that too – but without question James would have fit right in and I would have loved playing alongside him. For me, it is really simple. You make sure that your best players are on the pitch. And in their best positions.

Glasgow Times:
John Hartson

Playing Kieran Tierney at centre-half is not going to work. Tierney is the best left-back in Scotland and up there with the best in Britain and for me you play him in his best position and then play Andy Robertson further up the flank.

I think Robertson is a fantastic player and he has really come on in recent seasons but you can’t overlook Tierney either. Every team finds a way to get their best players into the starting line-up, even if it means tweaking things.

Martin O’Neill used to play Chris Sutton at centre-half or in midfield so that he could get myself and Henrik and Chris all on the pitch. Scotland do not have the quality to be able to leave players out that you know have real quality and it is up to the manager to find a way to accommodate all of them.

And Forrest would be one of the first names on the team sheet for me.