SCOTLAND fell to a shock 3-1 defeat to Iceland on Friday night, but one ex-Scotland international doesn’t think it’s time to worry.
Angus Gunn pulled up injured in the sixth minute, and substitute goalkeeper Cieran Slicker was forced to replace him.
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The Ipswich stopper was brought on for his first cap, but it was a night to forget for the 22-year-old.
The keeper was at fault for all three of the visitors’ goals, with boss Steve Clarke admitting after the match he wasn’t ready.
John Souttar scored Scotland’s only goal, with George Hirst having the ball in the net on his first start, only for VAR to intervene and rule it out.
Lennon Miller also debuted for his country, and looked promising, but on the whole it was a night the whole squad will wish to quickly forget about.
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Despite the performance and result, ex-Celtic hero Peter Grant insists that the match is nothing to worry about.
He told Sky Sports: “I’m not worried because of the players we have, you know, there’s no doubt of that.
“The performance wasn’t great we all know that, we all seen that, but it’s a very difficult time of year, and I’m not making excuses.
“As you say you’ve had guys on such a high with winning things and then coming back into play friendlies.
“I mean it’s not as if you’re playing against an England or whatever and it’s enthusiasm that sometimes rubs off the support, your talking about Iceland, and that’s no disrespect because i thought they played very well,
“I thought their goalkeeper was as good a passer as I’ve seen in football for a long time.
“I’ll hold fire on the criticism because I think it’s a difficult time of year and it always has been.
“We’ve just got to see how we progress, but I’ve got a great belief in the group of players that they have there.
“They know they’ve got a talented group and we know they’re more than capable than what they showed last night.”
Scotland travel to Lichtenstein on Monday night, and Clarke is looking to add to his goalkeeping department after losing Gunn and Kilmarnock’s Robby McCrorie.
Celtic-bound Ross Doohan is expected to be called up to the squad, and he could make his first appearance for the Tartan Army.
Elsewhere in the squad, Clarke has stated he isn’t one for experimenting, so we can expect a another tried and tested Scotland side for Monday evening’s friendly.
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