Ross County coach Paul Cowie is confident young talent is there – they just need opportunities to play at the highest level in Scotland
Paul Cowie believes bridging the gap between youth and senior football is key to helping Scotland’s next generation of talents shine.
The international break has seen Scotland compete with some of Europe’s heavyweights, losing late goals to both Poland and Portugal.
However, there has long been cause for optimism about the future of the nation’s chances due to the emergence of young stars like Billy Gilmour, and Ben Doak has become the latest player to win international caps.
Recently though, the development of young players has been a hot topic with statistics emerging showing the lack of game time being given to youngsters in Scotland’s top league.
Ross County coach Cowie headed up the Dundee United academy in his previous role, so he has seen the talent coming through in Scotland first hand.
He is confident that quality is not the issue, and instead it is about helping them make the jump from age-group football to the intensity and physicality of the Premiership.
“For me, it’s down to the bravery of the management to give them those opportunities,” Cowie reasoned.
“In the last five years I’ve seen so many talented, young players dwindle away because they’re not getting chances, and they get frustrated.
“The young players are raw, they are hungry and they want to showcase their abilities. They won’t let you down, but for me it’s about how you manage them.
“Opportunity is important, and I always said that at Dundee United. I had a good relationship with Jim Goodwin, and he gave opportunities last year - we had 13 graduates playing last year.
“It comes down to the club’s vision and philosophy of their youth set-up, and the manager to give them that opportunity, but first and foremost they need to be at a level that allows them to get to that environment.
“I genuinely think there is the talent across Scotland, but the thing that is probably to their detriment is taking the jump from the under-18s environment to the first team.
“We have to manage that better. People use loan systems, but in Scotland we need to do better as a nation to provide a platform - whether that’s an under-23 or reserve league. Giving them the opportunity is key, to me, for any operational pathway in a club.”