Motherwell boss Graham Alexander says he wasn't surprised that goalkeeper Liam Kelly wasn't included in Scotland's squad this week - but only because Steve Clarke has a lot to chose from for the 26 places available.
And he has no doubt that the on-loan Queen's Park Rangers shot-stopper will be given a chance to break back into Clarke's plans before long.
Clarke's squad for the opening World Cup qualifiers against Austria, Israel and the Faroe Islands was announced on Tuesday, and a few eyebrows were raised when Kelly wasn't included.
Alexander was delighted to see captain Declan Gallagher and fellow defender Stephen O'Donnell continue to make their way into the national team's plans, and says it's great for the club .
He said: ""There's going to be more than 23 good Scottish players to choose from and Steve Clarke has done a brilliant job in how he has created that environment, the team, that everyone wants to go and be included.
"He will know, as we all do, that every match day squad that I pick, there are always players that you can include and he has a much bigger pool of players to pick from.
"He has a good group of players that he has picked this time, but he also has a good group of players outside of that, who are trying their hardest to get in it.
"Liam is certainly one of those, his performances for us have been fantastic.
"It's not just his performances, it's the way he is around the training ground and on the training pitch. I'm talking about his will to win, his daily win to win, he's the epitome of that, and that's what we need at this club and that's what football needs, and Scotland needs.
"I'm sure in the future the opportunity for Liam will come, and I'm sure he will grasp it, but he's going to have to work hard."
Former Scotland hero Alexander says it's good for the club, the players and the national team to see Gallagher and O'Donnell continue their journey with Clarke.
He said: "It's good for everyone and certainly for those two boys. It's fantastic what they've done for Scotland so far in achieving qualification for the Euros, they deserve to be in that squad, and the manager is rewarding them with continued inclusion in the squad.
"They deserve it on their performances, they've been brilliant in the time I've been here, just in the two and a half months, but for Scotland it has been for a longer period than that, and they've never let the country down.
"It's a great privilege to be in the Scotland squad, in an international squad, but it's also great for us as a club and we're chuffed for them.
"It's brilliant to see our players achieving success and fulfilling their careers, so hopefully they'll be picked in the games as well, get good game-time and show what they can do, going into the Euros, which is a massive carrot at the end of the season.
"They're two top professionals, they deserve to be included, and we're chuffed for them."
Meanwhile, Alexander reiterated to his players that they will need to work hard for anything they take from Premiership basement side Kilmarnock tomorrow.
Alexander's men overcame Killie 1-0 at Rugby Park on February 10, courtesy of Allan Campbell's brilliant strike, and the gaffer says it's fine margins in games.
He said: "That was a great result for us there, and it was Tommy's first game, there was an uplift in Kilmarnock and it was a really tough game, it was a grind, and it wasn't high on quality, but the one bit of quality came from us with the goal.
"We let ourselves down after that, and that is the biggest thing for us.
"We understand that we had to work exceptionally hard in that game, regardless of their results since then, and we still have to work exceptionally hard to win any game of football.
"We have to learn our lesson from the five wins we've had, since my time here. None of them have been easy, every one has been hardly fought, and we've had to work exceptionally hard to get those points, and this will be no different.
"We're talking about Scottish Premiership here; it's not part-time football, it's not a hobby, it's everyone's living, job and profession, so every duel and every challenge will be fought hard for, from both teams, and we've got to make sure we come out on top of that."
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