INTERNATIONAL caps have proved rather hard to come by for Greg Taylor since the Celtic left back made his Scotland debut in a Euro 2020 qualifier against Belgium in Brussels back in 2019.
The presence of Liverpool defender Andy Robertson and Arsenal man Kieran Tierney in the national set-up has meant that Taylor has only made another six appearances for his country in the three years since.
But he will have a pretty good idea of what lies in store if Steve Clarke selects him – and there is, with Robertson injured and Tierney likely to be fielded at centre half, a good chance he will – to face Ukraine in the Nations League match at Hampden tomorrow.
The 24-year-old started for Celtic against Shakhtar Donetsk, who have no fewer than eight representatives in the visitors’ 25-strong squad, in their Champions League group game over in Poland last week.
Anatoliy Trubin, Mykola Matviyenko, Valeriy Bondar, Taras Stepanenko and Mykhaylo Mudryk – who netted a first-half equaliser in the 1-1 draw – all featured in the Polish Army Stadium in Warsaw.
So Taylor, who played at left wing back against Armenia in Yerevan back in June and performed well in a 4-1 victory that moved Scotland into second spot in Group B1, fully appreciates that the slightest lapse at the back will be punished.
“I will know exactly what to expect against Ukraine after playing against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League,” he said. “A number of their players are in the Ukrainian squad and I have no doubt that a few of them will be in the side on Wednesday night.
“I remember Mudryk came on against us in the World Cup play-off game back in June. He showed again last Wednesday night what a quality footballer he is.
“There has been a lot of talk about ruthlessness in front of goal in the last couple of weeks. That is an area that we have to improve in at Celtic. We have to start taking our chances in Europe and I am sure that we will.
“But Mudryk showed just how ruthless he is last week. He got one chance in the game in the first-half and he took it with a top level finish.
“We all know these are going to be very difficult games. International football is a similar level to European football – you have to take advantage of the big moments that you get in a game and give your opponents as little as possible at the same time. That is what we will be trying to do and have to do in these Nations League games.”
Ukraine, who deservedly won the Qatar 2022 play-off semi-final in Glasgow in the summer by a 3-1 scoreline despite not playing competitively in the previous seven months because of the Russian invasion, were dealt a blow last week when Oleksandr Zinchenko was ruled out of the Nations League triple header with a knee injury.
But Taylor expects that, with Andriy Lunin, Vitaliy Mykolenko, Ruslan Malinovskyi, Andriy Yarmalenko, Roman Yaremchuk and Mudryk all still involved, Oleksandr Petrakov’s men, who are in top spot in Group B1 after three games, will once again prove to be formidable rivals.
“Zinchenko has been playing to a real high level for Arsenal every week this season,” he said. “He was outstanding in the play-off game. He is not going to be involved in these matches because he is injured, but you could name five, six, seven boys in their set-up who are all of the same standard. They have got some world-class players.
“Yeah, we know these are going to be difficult, difficult games. But, equally, we have to go into these games with confidence because we have got some very good players who are playing their club football at a high level as well.”
Taylor is one of them. The former Kilmarnock left back has helped Celtic to win six of their seven cinch Premiership matches 2022/23 campaign and build up a two point lead over Rangers. He has also excelled in the Champions League group games against Real Madrid and Shakhtar.
Clarke could choose Aaron Hickey, who has been deployed at right back by Brentford in the Premier League, to take over from Robertson. However, the former Newcastle United, Chelsea and Liverpool assistant stated when he announced his squad last week that Taylor had been “on fire” and was “playing out of his skin”.
“They were really kind words, especially coming from the national team manager,” he said. “I have always said that if you are performing for your club then international football and recognition like that takes care of itself. All my focus has been on Celtic, but now I will turn my full attention to Scotland and these game with Ukraine and the Republic of Ireland.”
The seven-times capped defender will have no difficulties slotting in to the left wing back role again if he is preferred to Hickey in games which Scotland must win if they are to top Group B1 and secure a Euro 2024 play-off spot.
“It is another system to the one that I am used to playing for my club,” he said. “It is quite different to how I play for Celtic. It is another position for me to learn. But that certainly doesn’t mean it is something that I would be averse to playing.
“Any opportunity that you get to play for your country is a massive honour no matter what position it is so if the chance arises for me to feature there in any of these games then I would be privileged to do so. I always am when I am asked to play for Scotland.”
