Wednesday 22 March 2017 20:05, UK
Steven Naismith says Scotland’s friendly with Canada on Wednesday is a chance for players to stake a claim for a start against Slovenia in their World Cup Qualifier.
Scotland face a crunch encounter at Hampden on Sunday in their Group F fixture after successive 3-0 defeats against Slovakia and England left their hopes of qualifying for Russia in 2018 in the balance.
Naismith feels competition for places has never been stronger with four uncapped players in the squad - Liam Cooper, Ryan Fraser, Tom Cairney and Stuart Armstrong - and thinks the Canada game, live on Sky Sports 1, could help shape Gordon Strachan's team selection for the weekend.
"The new guys in the squad, if they play, they will see it as an opportunity to say 'I'm here to stay'," Naismith told the Official Scotland Podcast.
"Guys like myself who have not played many games recently for the national team, I've got to make sure the manager sees that I'm still worthy of being in the squad. It goes back to competition for places, if you're not performing you are not going to be in this squad eventually.
"That's what it is for players who have just come in and have maybe not had much game time for the manager recently. And, again, for the players that have been playing, it's for them to say 'I should be in the team for Sunday'.
"Obviously some of the results in the campaign haven't been what we wanted so I don't think anybody is sitting here saying 'I am playing on Sunday, I know I'm in the team because I have been good enough'."
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