Graeme Shinnie refused to hide from the flak last night and admitted his Scotland career is over.
The Aberdeen defender was overcome with his role in the first two goals against Kazakhstan that have effectively killed Scotland’s Euro campaign stone dead.
Shinnie was drafted in at left back in the absence of Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson but was brutally exposed after only 10 minutes.
He held his hands up and admitted his performance in the 3-0 defeat was nowhere good enough and that he expects to suffer the consequences.
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Robertson is poised to return to the squad for San Marino on Sunday but Shinnie knows his future chances will be limited on the back of his horror show in Astana.
He said: “I can’t see myself getting back into the team now. On a personal note I am gutted in myself.
“I know I am so much better and I have waited so long to get a chance. I was given my opportunity in the absence of two of our top players, Andy and KT.
“Andy is going to come back in against San Marino no matter what I did tonight, but it was a chance for me to show what I can do and I let myself down.
“I didn’t think we were great as a team but I look at myself more than anything.
“To get that chance and to let the team down was disappointing. I don’t think I played well. It was frustrating on a personal note.
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“I maybe got caught a bit cold at left back in terms of my positioning, especially for their second goal.
“It was a tough night. They played well, they were on the front foot putting pressure on us.
“In the first couple of minutes we did all right. Big Oli McBurnie got in behind with his pace. Then we lost two goals in four minutes and it ultimately killed us and gave them the boost they needed.
“There is no margin for error at international level.
“It’s a massive learning curve. I am 27 but I am always learning. This is probably the biggest lesson I will ever learn. We need to dust ourselves down and go again in San Marino.”
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Shinnie only won his first cap for Scotland in last season’s end of season tour of Mexico and South America and now, six caps in, he reckons the chance will never come again.
However, he insists Scotland can recover some pride in the Italian principality, even if automatic qualification from a group that includes Belgium and Russia already looks a forlorn hope.
Shinnie said: “As a squad we want to get back to winning ways.
“We need to stand up to the criticism because it is deserved but we can only learn from it and move on to the next game and try to put things right.”
