Scot Gemmill has revealed that Scotland U21s’ return to Tannadice next month was sparked by the UN Climate Change Conference (GOP26).
Hotels are at a premium across the central belt as world leaders prepare to descend on Glasgow for the event next month.
As a consequence, the Scottish FA were forced to look beyond their regular haunts of Tynecastle and St Mirren Park for the encounters against Kazakhstan (November 12) and Belgium (November 16).
But Gemmill is thrilled by the prospect of bringing the next generation of Scottish talent back to the home of Dundee United.
“The climate conference in Glasgow means all the hotels in the central belt are all booked out,” said Gemmill.
“So, we had to look for a different venue for ourselves and the opposition.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for fans in a different part of the country to come along to see and support the team — and it’s also a good experience for the players to play and train in a different environment.
“It’s win-win for everyone and we will be very excited to play there.”
But before Gemmill casts his thoughts to those Euro 2023 qualifiers at Tannadice, Denmark visit Tynecastle on Thursday night.
A much-changed Scotland under-21 side claimed a fine 1-1 draw against Turkey last month — but the visit of Group I’s top seeds will be a more onerous proposition.
Gemmill added: “In terms of expectations, internally, our previous performances against Pot One teams show that [ranking] is where the difference ends. As soon as we go on the pitch, it’s 11 vs 11.”
‘Fantastic’ Max Anderson
Gemmill’s charges will tackle the task without Dundee star Max Anderson, who was given his under-21 debut as a second-half substitute in Bursa and made a positive impact in the closing stages.
“Max [Anderson] in our thoughts,” continued Gemmill.
“He’s doing fantastically well and we are very lucky in that we have several players we need to see.
“We can’t fit them all in and, across over the duration of the games, we try to give experience to as many players as we can.
“Last month it wasn’t the normal process with so many enforced changes because of the Covid situation so that has meant more numbers than normal are not in the squad this time.
“It shouldn’t be easy to get in the national squad. We want it to be hard.”
