Scorer Robertson praises ‘unbelievable’ Souttar

Though responsible for the added-time goal that secured victory over Poland, captain Andy Robertson was keen to shine a light of praise on another of Scotland’s defenders following the win in Warsaw.

John Souttar, 28, started the last four games of the Nations League A Group 1 campaign, the past three earning the seven points that lifted Steve Clarke’s side above Poland, giving them a chance of maintaining their A status.

And Liverpool’s Robertson, 30, said of the Rangers centre-back: “He’s been unbelievable in this Nation’s League. Especially the last four games, I think he’s been different class.

“He’s showed his quality and it was disappointing for him, I know how much it hurt him not getting picked for the Euros, some people will maybe think, ‘okay that’s my Scotland career over’ or whatever – not John.

“John worked so hard and he’s playing well for Rangers and he’s also doing unbelievable for Scotland.”

‘Another vintage performance’

Former Dundee United player Souttar’s career journey has been eventful, with injuries affecting his spells at Hearts and Rangers, but the defender is now a regular in the blue of Rangers and Scotland.

“I’ve seen him grow from a very young age and it’s unbelievable to see and tonight was just another vintage performance by him and he’s grown into the shirt,” said Robertson, whose header sealed the 2-1 win.

“He’s obviously had a really tough time with injuries over the years and things like that and he’s getting a run of fitness now and long may that continue because he’s a massive player for Scotland.”

Souttar returned some of the plaudits to his international skipper, commenting: “It’s an unbelievable header from Rob – on his 80th cap, so yeah it was a great moment for him.

“Obviously the game was very end to end, they had spells, we had spells. We passed the ball well, we got in good areas and yeah, it’s an excellent end to the campaign. It was a good feeling.

“It’s small margins, small things have to go your way, and in the last three games they have.

“With the quality of player we have, we need to get them on the ball. The midfield, the attackers, even the ones coming off the bench, there’s some really high quality players.

“We’ve tried to dominate the ball more in this campaign, we’ve passed the ball more, which is obviously tough, the level of opposition is top, so the more we get the boys who are high quality on the ball the better we will be.”

The draw for the promotion and relegation play-offs takes place on Friday and Austria and Greece are two of Scotland’s possible opponents in March.

“The last two results we’ve got to enjoy it,” added Souttar, referencing Friday’s home win over Croatia. “It’s tough playing at this level, the top league of international football, so the boys have got to enjoy the moment and we look forward to March.”