Graham Alexander believes a consistent Tony Watt can resurrect his Scotland career.
The 27-year-old Motherwell striker, who has scored three goals in his last four games, won his only cap so far as a substitute against Czech Republic in a 2016 friendly but recently admitted he had not given up on a Scotland call-up.
Ahead of the cinch Premiership game against Aberdeen at Fir Park on Saturday, Alexander was asked about the prospect of Watt, who has also represented Scotland at under-19, under-20 and under-21 level, working his way into Steve Clarke’s squad.
He said: “I don’t see why not. The Scotland squad and every international squad is the pinnacle of that country’s pool of players.
“You have to be good over a consistent length of time to get that recognition.
“We all know what Tony is capable of, I think he knows that as well but there is a big group of players just outside the Scotland squad that are all fighting to get in it and I think Tony is one of that pool.
“But you have to be consistently good over a significant length of time and keep scoring, that will help his case.
“We are delighted with how he has played and contributed to the team since coming back into the team so any player that is available and can play for his country should have those ambitions if they are playing at the top level and Tony is in Scotland.
“I would like him to have that ambition, to have that drive.
“I haven’t spoken to him about it but I am sure being a proud Scotsman he would love to be back in the squad.
“I am more concentrated on what he is doing for us because it is stepping stones.
“If you are not playing well for your club you can forget about it so he has got to continue to play well for us.”
After league wins over Livingston and Dundee, Alexander is looking for another signpost to improvement with a third consecutive victory for the first time since he took over at the Fir Park club in January.
“It is important,” said the Motherwell manager, who confirmed new signing, Norwegian defender Sondre Solholm Johansen is available to play against the Dons.
“You always look at these little things as you go along.
“We did it when we came in in January. We hadn’t scored an equaliser at that point in the league and we knocked that on the head and then we kept a clean sheet and then we came back from behind to win.
“So all these little things are improvements and stepping stones for the players to work towards.
“We will only get three points if we win again tomorrow but it is another thing that is showing signs of improvement to give the players confidence that the work they are putting in on the training pitch is paying dividends in games.
“So, all these little things are good and positive steps but we have a tough opponent in front of us to make that happen but that is the challenge.”
