Scotland were blessed with several top goalkeepers over the past few decades, but with the last crop all either retired from professional football or nearing that juncture, there's a lack of obvious successors.
Liam Kelly has been in and out of the national team squad since moving to Rangers last summer. Angus Gunn was believed to be a natural pick for the No.1 jersey and held that role during Euro 2024, yet he has been prone to a blunder or two. While Zander Clark has fallen down the pecking order at Heart of Midlothian.
Clark has been replaced by Craig Gordon, who looked to have retired from international football in June before a sensational turn of events led to him making four appearances in the UEFA Nations League across the October and November fixtures.
Gordon is 42-years-old, so who takes over when he hangs up his gloves is still up for debate.
The Scottish FA's goalkeeping chief Graeme Smith believes it's important that young goalkeepers are given adequate game time at club level from a young age as he acknowledged the gap between David Marshall, Allan McGregor and Gordon in comparison to the current batch.
“The three you’ve mentioned were part of my era of goalkeeping," Smith told the Sunday Mail.
“There were others at that time but Craigy, Greegs and Marsh were all born in the early 80s, the same as me. I’m a big believer that the reason they were so successful was because they were exposed to first-team football early.
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“Those guys’ quality and what they achieved speak for themselves. But a major part of them having lengthy careers at the top – playing 500-plus games and getting over 50 caps for their country – is exposure at an early age.
“It had less to do with academy football and more about them getting out and experiencing first-team level. That exposure to competitive football gives young keepers more of an opportunity to have a lasting career.
“The more games you play, the more decision-making you have to do, the more experience you get. Ultimately, the very best keepers are the ones who experience the most.
“I know it’s natural for goalies to have their debuts later with their parent club at the top level. But I still think we can expose them as much as we can, whether that’s in the SPFL or Lowland League. The quicker we can do that, the more they’ll gain from it.
“In the last few years there has been a bit of a gap after Craig, Allan and David. But hopefully the young guys coming through are the next batch. It’s about finding a balance between the technical side of them learning in their academy and that competitive element of first-team football.”
