Liam Palmer has stated that teammate Steven Fletcher’s Scotland future lays in his own hands, having not been selected for the current international break.

Scotland have just come off the back of a 4-0 defeat away to Russia and a 6-0 victory over San Marino following it, with the latter doing very little to paper over the cracks of four straight defeats prior to it.

Scotland’s qualification via the conventional group format is in tatters, as they sit fourth in their group, just below Cyprus. Scotland’s only hope is to qualify via the Nations League-based play-offs, which is obviously a huge lottery. 

One player who appears to have been cut off from international duty recently is Sheffield Wednesday target-man Steven Fletcher, whose involvement helped fire Scotland to Nations League success in the summer, leaving them with the hope that they can qualify for next year’s European Championship. Steve Clarke spoke about Fletcher’s omission following the defeat to Russia, attributing it to injury, where he told the Star he has “issues with a part of his body” alluding to an ankle injury sustained against Hull.

His Wednesday teammate Liam Palmer had been selected this time around, with manager Steve Clarke starting him for both games (his second and third caps). He spoke about Fletcher’s involvement (or lack thereof) and how he is considering his international future at the moment, where he told the Star: “You would have to ask him.

“I am not sure. In terms of his age and things he is looking at future tournaments and whether it’s right for him, that it is hard for me to say.

“Definitely the way he is performing, which is all I can go on, he has been one of our best players this season.”

The Verdict

With Fletcher not getting any younger, it is only natural for him to be considering whether or not to call time on his international career. However, Fletcher’s main focus in the meantime should be putting in good performances at club level, which will inevitably lead to another call-up before long.

Only time will tell whether Fletcher will force his way back into the Scotland side, but there is no need yet for him to burn his bridges because his current form should warrant consideration from Clarke for sure.