Former Hibs legend makes Brexit claim amid lack of Scottish internationals at Easter Road
Former Hibs star claims Brexit is stopping Steve Clarke from looking to Easter Road
Tam McManus, a former Hibs player, thinks that the current Easter Road team lacks international motivation because of Brexit.
During the recent international break, a number of Hibs players played in matches throughout the globe, including Martin Boyle and Lewis Miller, who shone for Australia. However, Steve Clarke’s team, who played Georgia and Norway, lacked any players from Leith.
McManus, who made over 100 league appearances for the Hibees, has argued that since Brexit, English clubs are seeking out the rising talent from north of the border rather than looking to the continent as they used to do only a few years ago.
“Not having a single player at Hibs pushing for a place in Steve Clarke’s squad is more than just a sign of the times; it’s also another huge negative for our game because of Brexit,” McManus wrote in his Daily Record column.
“All of the talented young Scottish players that we are seeing these days are going to the major southern clubs before they even make it into their first teams at teams like Hearts, Hibs, Motherwell, and Aberdeen.”
“Brexit is now in play as English teams are now scouring our game rather than focusing on Europe in the way they used to,” stated the 42-year-old, who made 14 youth appearances for Scotland.
The days of our young players playing 100 first-team games in the Premiership or Championship before landing their big break are long gone since so many of them are getting picked up early.
“This makes it much more difficult for teams like Hibs to get any of their players into the national team; a cursory glance at the squad reveals that the talent pull is primarily concentrated in England.”
McManus continued by outlining the somewhat strange decision to start Jacob Brown of the Premier League over Lawrence Shankland of Hearts in Scotland’s final Euro qualifying match.
Given that Jacob Brown hasn’t scored for Luton Town since August, it was odd to see him start on Sunday against Norway, while Lawrence Shankland only made a late appearance despite scoring goals for Hearts all over the Premiership.
“Is it because Clarke thinks Brown is operating every week at a far higher level?”, McManus questioned.“It’s another prime example of how difficult it is for Scottish players at provincial clubs to get the nod. You now need to get a big move to get into this Scotland team.
“It’s a sad fact that nobody at Hibs is even in with a sniff of the current squad and with six months remaining before the Euro Finals in Germany, it’s unlikely to change.
“David Marshall is there, but he’s retired now, so I’m sure he’ll be teaching the younger players the importance of working hard so they can raise their hands.”
In a career spanning from 2004 to his international retirement in 2021, Marshall, 38, has amassed 47 caps for Scotland. According to McManus, only one other former Hibee has achieved success on the international front while at Easter Road.
“A lot can happen in that time, injuries or someone hitting a rich vein of form but it’s doubtful. Ryan Porteous is the only academy product who’s managed to gain a senior cap while at Hibs and that highlights the dearth over the last few decades”
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