Leeds United skipper Liam Cooper has been backed to bring some of the 'Marcelo Bielsa magic' to the Scotland side ahead of their Nations League double header.
Cooper made his international debut a year ago when the Tartan Army lost 2-1 to Russia, with a second cap soon following in a 4-0 defeat to Belgium.
An injury ruled him out of Scotland's next fixtures, but boss Steve Clarke is hoping that the 29-year-old's experience in leading Leeds back to the Premier League under Marcelo Bielsa will hold him in good stead for their upcoming matches against Israel and the Czech Republic.
"Liam played in a couple of games for me last year where we didn't get great results against difficult opponents," said Clarke.
"After that, he was injured but he got back into the Leeds team towards the end of last season and was captain of a side that was very strong in the Championship, and I am sure will be strong in the Premier League.
"I hope Liam can come in and bring a bit of experience, a bit of the Bielsa magic into the camp.
"Liam has good experience and he's a good player, I liked his demeanour. He's been captain and is a leader as well, so that should help the centrebacks.
"In international football, if you give the ball away, you can spend a long time trying to get it back and you can also be heavily punished on the counter-attack. It's important you have people who can play from the back and know when to play from the back and when not to and a player of Liam's experience would have that in his locker."
'If you look at the make-up of the team and what we've got, you need a physical presence up front".
Cooper will rejoin the Leeds squad after the international break, where he will be joined by new signing Robin Koch, the German international defender who Leeds signed on Saturday.
