Tommy Wright has backed Stevie May to grab his Scotland chance with both hands.
The St Johnstone boss was delighted to hear his former player has received his first Scotland call-up, and is sure that the Sheffield Wednesday man won’t be fazed by it.
Wright believes one of the 21-year-old’s biggest strengths is his self-belief, and that will help him make an impact when the 27-man squad meets up for the Euro 2016 double-header against Georgia and Poland later this month.
The former Northern Ireland international said: “Stevie’s always worked really hard on his game. One thing about him is that he has real confidence in his ability.
“He believes he will score at whatever level he’s playing, and he’ll feel he will score at international level if he gets the chance.
“Some people might mistake it for over-confidence. It isn’t. It’s just a quiet belief in his ability. It’s part of his make-up and is a great thing for a striker to have.”
May isn’t the first player to have to wait until he has left one of Scotland’s smaller clubs before getting international recognition, and he won’t be the last.
He scored 27 goals for Saints last season including two against Aberdeen that got them to the Scottish Cup final and has found the net three times for Wednesday so far.
Wright insisted however that he has no quarrel with the timing of May’s promotion from the under-21s.
“I know there will be people who will say as soon as he has moved to a bigger club he has got his call-up,” Wright said.
“But Gordon Strachan is an experienced manager and he is the judge of when the time is right for Stevie.
“Yes, in a perfect world, it would have been nice if it had happened while he was still a St Johnstone player.
“It would have put his transfer fee up a bit for starters! But Gordon has to pick players when he thinks they are ready.”
Wright added: “Everybody here is thrilled for him.
“He got his move in the summer and he’s made a good start to his career at Sheffield Wednesday.
“It’s a just reward for a lot of hard work Stevie has put in. It’s a great achievement.
“Now he’s made the squad, hopefully he can stay in it.
“If and when he gets his first cap there will be nothing but pride at St Johnstone for a local boy who is part of this club’s history for all he did last season.
“The call-up reflects well on St Johnstone, but most of all it reflects well on Stevie as a person.”