Steve Clarke admits he left Billy Gilmour out of the Scotland squad to allow him to develop in Scot Gemmill's under-21s outfit,
The Chelsea kid, 18, has already forced his way into the Chelsea first-team set-up and was widely touted for a call-up to the Scotland proper squad.
But the Scots boss has urged Gilmour to continue his rapid rise to the top without any added pressure.
He said: "Billy is an exceptional young talent and we have to give the young players time to grow and develop.
"The best place for that is in Scot’s under-21s team and he has been in tremendous form.
"It’s the same with Mikey Johnstone who I considered calling up.
"There’s Fraser Hornby and a good few others too.
"If they can continue to develop together then that will be good for the future."
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