CALLUM McGREGOR and Ryan Christie have been two of their club’s talismen this season.
Now Craig Brown reckons it’s time they became like the leaders of old when they play for their country.
Midfielder McGregor has 13 goals for Celtic this season, while Christie has netted 20.
That sort of form meant both would have been certs to be named in the Scotland squad for the Euro 2020 play-off with Israel at the end of the month.
Uefa will scrap those games on Tuesday amid the coronavirus crisis.
But when football resumes, ex-Scotland boss Brown wants 19-cap McGregor and Christie, who has 11 appearances, to grab international games by the scruff of the neck.
Asked if he sees leaders in Steve Clarke’s squad, Brown said: “No, I don’t think there are leaders.
“Callum is a super player in midfield, but he’s not a leader.
“He’s not a Barry Ferguson, who was 20 or 21 when we beat England at Wembley,
“He was the best player on the park that day. He ran the game as a young guy and he was a leader.
“I know Ryan well because he was at Aberdeen. They’re very good players, but not leaders in that way.
“I wouldn’t fault them because they have Scott Brown there at Celtic and he’s their leader, the dominant guy. They’re well led by Brown.
“But we had the likes of Colin Calderwood, Colin Hendry and Tom Boyd in defence. Nothing got by them.
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“We qualified for Euro 96 after losing just three goals in ten games. We qualified for the World Cup in 1998 after losing three goals in ten games.
“A lot of credit goes to the two goalies, Andy Goram and Jim Leighton too, but that back three could play against any strikers.”
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Brown would love to see Steven Fletcher back in the Scotland fold, but the Sheffield Wednesday striker hasn’t taken up recent opportunities to play for his country.
Brown added: “It bugs me when someone calls off. You’re not allowed to call off. You can be excused.
“The way he can play, he’d be an asset to the squad. I think it’s a wee bit soon to go for him.
“But a Scotland manager shouldn’t have to go cap in hand for a player either.
“If he says he doesn’t want to play, I wouldn’t give him the time of the day.”