Richard Tait last night rounded on Gordon Strachan for claiming that Scotland isn’t producing young talent and asked: “Has he seen Motherwell play?”
The Fir Park club had four players – David Turnbull, Allan Campbell, Jake Hastie and Barry Maguire – in the Under-21s side that drew with Mexico last week and full-back Tait is adamant they are proof that the Lanarkshire conveyor belt of talent is rolling on relentlessly.
Tait said: “Has he (Strachan) been to a Motherwell game? I don’t know, he obviously hasn’t if he hasn’t seen the talent we have coming through.
“Everyone has an opinion but people’s opinions sometimes are probably biased to what they have actually seen.
“I doubt he has been to a Motherwell game and seen the lads so I don’t know how he can comment on that. It’s fantastic they are all starting for Scotland.
“It’s positive for Motherwell but it’s also positive for the future of Scotland as well. They have a bright future if they keep doing what they are doing.
“Everyone expects to bring through players like Lionel Messi all the time. But that’s a load of rubbish, the guy is a one-in-a-lifetime kind of player.
“David Turnbull is a fantastic football player, Jake Hastie, Allan Campbell, Barry Maguire is out on loan but he is great player as well. And it’s just nice Motherwell have that much young talent coming through the squad.”
Tait has been backed for a Scotland call-up of his own after consistent displays on either side of the Motherwell defence.
Right-back has been up for grabs in the Scotland set-up since Alan Hutton quit but the 29-year-old has mainly played left wing-back this season.
Tait said: “I don’t really dwell on it or think about it. It would be a great honour if it happened.”
Manager Stephen Robinson is equally convinced and, ahead of today’s clash with St Johnstone at Fir Park, he said: “I’ve no doubt Richard can play for Scotland.
“Obviously they have good players in front of Richard as well but all he can do is keep playing as well as he has been.
“He’s very consistent, a fantastic player and a super example to our young players coming through. Maybe his quality doesn’t get noticed as much but he has a lot of class on the ball and there is no reason why he can’t be called up.
“Alex McLeish knows his job and his players so it’s not for me to tell him who to pick and who not to pick.
“I can’t speak about Scotland but Richard is a very respected and highly-valued member of the Motherwell team. He wears his heart on his sleeve.
“If you’re a fan of watching him play, you know that good or bad he’s giving you absolutely everything. He’s a player who has run himself into the ground and that has to be admired.”
Robinson reckons today is a must-win if Motherwell are to harbour any top-six hopes.
He said: “It’s a huge game and we need a win. St Johnstone had a good result during the week which puts them above us.
“We are all fighting to get that last place in the top six. We’ll go into this with a very positive attitude.
“We’ll be very aggressive in terms of how we play.”
