St Johnstone’s purple patch has turned out to be too late for the Euro 2020 hopes of their young stars, according to Callum Booth.
The experienced full-back has watched Jason Kerr, Jamie McCart, Liam Gordon, Shaun Rooney and Zander Clark take their games to a high level over the last few months, with one trophy secured and another up for grabs on Saturday.
Their second half of the season displays haven’t been enough to force their way into Steve Clarke’s 26-man squad for the summer Euros, however.
“It is a little bit disappointing but I think Steve Clarke has a hard job,” said Booth.
“Our form has been brilliant since Christmas time and I think Scotland have only had one other squad since then so it was always going to be tough.
“I think Steve Clarke is a loyal manager to the squads he has had in the past.
“We have a lot of good young Scottish players who are playing really well and performing in big games.
“If we can continue that into next season, once the Euros are out the way, then I think there could be a more realistic chance of the boys getting in there.
“I don’t think our boys were pinning their hopes too much. They have just been focussing on how we’ve been doing and how they’ve been performing.
“They will have a chance next season I would imagine.”
Saints have a Scottish Cup final to prepare for, of course, and Booth revealed that familiar routines have returned at McDiarmid Park after their Covid-19 crisis that lasted a fortnight.
“The team have managed to get a couple of huge results during this tricky period,” said the former Dundee United man. “Winning a semi-final and clinching a place in Europe.
“It shows how good things are here that we can still do that in these circumstances.
“This week has been fine and we’re expecting to get a full week’s normal training.”
Booth came through the Hibs academy and played nearly 50 first team games at Easter Road.
He knows all about the expectation that will be on the shoulders of Jack Ross’s men at Hampden.
“I certainly feel that being at a bigger club like Hibs brings more pressure,” he said.
“So hopefully we can use that to our advantage.
“We put pressure on ourselves here but the build-up has been relaxed.
“This season we have had three big games at Hampden and we have performed well in all of them. So hopefully we can do that again.
“Having a lot of young boys in our team maybe helps because they might not feel the pressure the same way.
“Hibs are favourites to win it, they are expected to win it – and that’s good for us.
“We enjoy being the underdogs. That’s where we like to be.”
