Scotland boss Craig Levein has revealed that Celtic young gun James Forrest was close to being called into the senior squad for next week's friendly in Cyprus.
The 20-year old winger has hit top form at club level in recent weeks and Levein said he was on the verge of coming in for the trip to Larnaca but said U21s boss Billy Stark wanted him for the UEFA U21 Championship meeting with Holland on November 14.
"Billy asked if he could have James for the game in Holland and he also has Danny Wilson for that one. If need be, I'll send Grant Hanley too," Levein said.
"Given James' recent performances, there is every chance he'd have played in Cyprus, but we are trying to develop a strong team mentality within the Scotland set-up.
"Scotland United is what it's being labeled.
"What I want to do is help Billy to put on a good performance in Holland.
"Out of my group, Forrest is the one that he feels will be the biggest help to him.
"This is something you will see more of in the future. There will be more joined-up thinking with regard to helping the younger age groups qualify for major tournaments."
