Ross County teenager's Scotland call-up continues his education
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DYLAN Smith’s rising stock within the Scottish youth international set-up was underlined by inclusion in Billy Stark’s Spain-bound under 19s squad.
That is the view of Ross County manager Malky Mackay who held discussions with the national coach ahead of Wednesday’s 2-0 friendly defeat against Republic of Ireland at Pinatar Arena in Murcia.
Inverness-raised Smith (17), a recent graduate from the under-17s national squad, has taken great strides in his career under Mackay, with six Premiership starts.
He was given the last 10 minutes against the Irish and will be hopeful of involvement against Portugal at the same venue on Sunday.
Central defender Smith suffered an ankle injury in the latter stages of the under-19s’ 2-2 draw while captaining the side against Czech Republic last month.
Despite having not played since, Stark was desperate to keep him in tow.
Mackay said: “They brought Dylan into the last camp and they were really happy with him. Unfortunately, with 15 minutes to go, he turned his ankle.
“He was out for a couple of weeks and has just got back training again ahead of the current international camp.
“Billy, though, was really keen for him to travel, rather than leave him out just because he hasn’t had the same level of work. That’s a big compliment to the lad. For experience value it’s good he is part of it all.”
The young Scots kick off their Euro qualifying campaign away to Bulgaria next month.
