ON THE ROAD travels to Cumbernauld… and finds the graduate pathway is looking brighter for Scotland’s next generation

In Athens last Thursday night, Max Johnston came on to replace Billy Gilmour as Scotland held on to a narrow lead in the UEFA Nations League play-off.

On a drizzly night in Cumbernauld on Saturday, Scotland powered to a win in the European Under-17s Championship.

The two events are linked not just by the under-age squad visiting the A team at the beginning of the week. Johnston, the 21-year-old Sturm Graz full back, is a graduate of the SFA Performance School programme – as is Gilmour, the 23-year-old Napoli midfielder, and six members of the under-17 squad that now have the fate of the group in their hands.

A victory over Liechtenstein in midweek will almost certainly be enough to seal a triumphant campaign, following a draw with North Macedonia and an impressive performance against an excellent Romanian side, which saw them win the game 2-0.

Brian McLaughlin, their head coach and the SFA Performance Schools manager, could thus reflect on a successful week that gives further credence to the notion that there is optimism for the future of the national team.

The under-17s’ visit to the A squad underlined much of what McLaughlin and his coaches seek to establish.

Alexander Smith (left) s one of the performance school players who has really caught the eye

Performance school graduate Billy Gilmour recently met with some of the Scottish hopefuls

‘When I walked in to the A squad, I was coming with three or four performance school graduates and the first person who comes over is Billy Gilmour, then Max comes over,’ says McLaughlin in a corridor in Broadwood Stadum after a famous win. ‘This is how it was meant to be. The older graduates looking after the younger ones.’

Indeed, there is another Gilmour connection. Harvey, 19, brother of Billy, is now a coach on the schools’ programme after being a player on it.

‘It all starts with a connection,’ says McLaughlin. ‘We have to connect with the players at a young age. Once you have that connection, it is incredible what can happen. We have seven graduates who are now coaches within the school. Young Harvey was with us last week as we are now in performance-school trials. Not only is Harvey coaching, he is helping us select players for the programme.’

The programme started in 2012 at seven schools. It is designed to give girls and boys with potential the best opportunity to practise their skills. The schools are Hazelhead Academy, Aberdeen, St John’s RC High School, Dundee, Broughton High School, Edinburgh, Graeme High School, Falkirk, Holyrood Secondary, Glasgow, Grange Academy, Kilmarnock, and Braidhurst High School, Motherwell.

Every year a number of promising under-12s are chosen for those schools. Coaching takes place during regular school hours.

Three graduates have made it into the A team: Gilmour, Johnston and Nathan Patterson of Everton. The signs are good in the under-21 squad. Ryan One of Sheffield United, Bailey Rice of Rangers, and Bobby Wales of Kilmarnock have already shown impressive form in club football. There were seven graduates in the last under-19 squad and six in the under-17s.

‘We did an independent review and the numbers of full-time contracts in our squads are incredible,’ says McLaughlin. ‘I knew we were doing a lot of good work in the background. By that, I mean the work of the coaches. The collaboration with clubs and the collaboration with schools have been fantastic. The figures underline that.’

He adds: ‘These young players feel proud of that programme. And there are more and more of them coming through.’

Cooper Masson slid in to make it 2-0 for Scotland, who have been in fine form of late

Scotland Under-17s are setting the pace in their European Championships group

The schools operate in a unique format. ‘We don’t play games, we don’t give out contracts,’ says McLaughlin. ‘It’s different and it is definitely working. We will be judged on the pitch, of course, but we are comfortable with that.’

One of the immediate impressions of the under-17s is the size of the boys. They mostly matched a physical Romanian side.

McLaughlin explains this development: ‘The biggest difference now is that all the young kids have been full-time since they were about 12. They have either been in a club performance school or the SFA performance school. They are training every day so they are getting more physical.’

Blessedly, there is still room for the smaller, but technically gifted, specimen.

Two of these players catch the eye. Aiden McCallion is conspicuous in midfield with his red hair and his crisp passing. Alexander Smith is a throwback to the tanner ba’ player – eager, quick and deft on the ball. McCallion has been with Rangers since he was 10. Smith is also a Rangers player, having reportedly snubbed interest from Arsenal.

McCallion’s father, Stuart, who played with Ayr and Kilmarnock, has also represented Scotland, with six caps at schoolboy level. He first took his laddie for a kick of the ball at Portland Park in Galston, near to where they live.

Stuart is a coach for Darvel under-age teams but he believes his son needs little input from him.

‘We always speak but he knows what he needs to do,’ he says of his son. ‘He has a good head on him. He’s very mature. He had a fair idea of how to play even at an early age and he had an older brother, Jack, to learn from. Jack was at Ayr United youths and now plays for Darvel under-20s.’

Head coach Brian McLaughlin is proud of the progress being made by his youngsters

Scotland Under-17s mostly matched their Romanian counterparts for physicality during the tie

McCallion Junior is like a metronome in midfield, keeping the rhythm of possession as Scotland grew into the game on Saturday. One volleyed pass reeked of pure technique and exceptional vision.

But all played a part in an important victory. Hayden Borland, the tall and imposing Celtic defender, scored with a powerful header from a corner and Cooper Masson, who came on in the 63rd minute, briskly diverted a cross into the net in the dying stages to seal the points.

Another substitute, Zander McAllister, also made an impact. He is following in the footsteps of his sister, Paige, 21, in playing for his country. She plays for the under-23s and has forged a career in Scandinavia, first moving to Sweden and now playing in Norway.

Zander was spotted playing in Blackburn, West Lothian, as a six-year-old. He trained at Motherwell and later attended Braidhurst High School under the programme.

‘We basically applied for the programme online and he was accepted,’ says his father, Stuart, a former Junior player, who dropped off his son in Motherwell every morning after driving from their home in West Lothian.

The journey was no barrier to the son. ‘He always has had commitment,’ says his dad. ‘This is what he always wanted to do.’

The parents, of course, have had to dedicate their time and efforts to the children’s football. ‘We are very proud of both of them, obviously,’ says Stuart. ‘It’s been a commitment but it has been fun, too.

‘We try to coincide our holidays with their trips to play abroad and we have loved that and formed a bond with other parents.’

Aiden McCallion has a bright future and was like a metronome in midfield against Romania

Max Johnston is another senior Scot who graduated through the SFA performance schools

These parents drifted down to the barriers at full-time to congratulate their sons. The floodlights illuminated scenes of happiness.

There have been dark murmurings over the pathway for young players in Scotland but there was, at least, some rays of light in Cumbernauld and beyond.