Mark Reynolds Interview |

The defender talks about Scotland and the new season ahead

Aberdeen pair Mark Reynolds and Peter Pawlett were last week called into the Scotland squad for the first time for this month’s friendly against World Cup bound Nigeria. Defender Mark, 27, and midfielder Peter, 23, have both been capped at Under-21 level but this will be the first time either player will have been involved with the full squad.

Mark spoke exclusively to RedWeb:

“The gaffer phoned last Thursday to tell me that Gordon Strachan had called me up to the squad and then the news was announced on Friday morning. As you can imagine I was absolutely delighted. I was pleased to hear that Peter was called up as well. It is a nice little bit of recognition for the club and for the hard work the team have put in this season.

“It is great to be called up and involved in the squad. The press have asked me a lot if it is something I was thinking about and I have made no secret of how much it would mean for me to play for my country. I am delighted to be part of things, whether that be playing or just being part of the squad in London.

“It is a very strong looking squad. There are a lot of players playing in the English Premiership or for big sides in the Championship as well as the SPFL. There are a lot of quality players in there. Gordon and his coaching staff have turned the fortunes of the country around and all the players are buying into what he is doing. He has shown consistency in his selection. It means you have to be patient and wait to get your chance but when you do you have to take it and impress.

“I have played for the Scotland U21s and played in a B International but this is my first call up to the first team squad so it should be a great experience. I am really looking forward to it.

“It will be good to go and train with the side and get a view from the inside. It will be good to see how they do things and see players playing at an International level. It is the level I want to play at and it will allow me to see what I have to do to get there on a regular basis.

“I started my Scotland career with the U17s and then moved up to the U19s. We played in the European Championships where we got beat by Spain in the final and then we went to the U20 World Cup in Canada, I was fortunate enough to score in one of the games. I then played for the U21s where we missed out on qualifying for the European Championships by one point. So I have a lot of good memories of playing for Scotland and coming through the youth levels. They are games and occasions I look back on fondly. I played in a lot of good teams. A lot of the guys I played with then have come right through and are now involved in the full set-up.

“It was good to see the Scotland U17s doing well in recent weeks. I was keeping an eye on the games and it was good to see Scott Wright playing so well. Both Scott and Michael Kelly will have learned an awful lot from being in that kind of environment and it should stand them in good stead for the future. It is also good to see Scotland are doing well at that level.

“The future of Scottish Football looks a lot brighter.”

Mark’s call up comes on the back of another excellent season for the defender who was rewarded by the club with a contract extension that will keep him the Pittodrie until at least 2018.

“It has been a good season for me personally, receiving the Aberdeen FC Player of the Year award, getting into the PFA Team of the Season. There was a real feeling of disappointment with the way the season ended, it was a horrible way to end it but that is football and you just have to accept it and move on.

“It was still a good season and a successful one which we can build on next campaign. I am looking forward to the season ahead. We will have a good squad again and we have European football to look forward to.

“A lot of people are making a big deal of our early start. I can assure you all the boys in the dressing room would rather have a shorter time off during the summer and be doing well and playing in Europe, than having finished in the bottom six. If we have to sacrifice a couple weeks holiday then so be it.

“When I played at Motherwell I was involved in a couple of European campaigns. The one that sticks out the most was when we qualified though the UEFA Fair Play award. I think we landed up playing six or eight games and that took us up to the start of the domestic season. It just meant we had a really good pre-season and we had a good campaign off the back of it.

“The days of players having seven or eight weeks off and then turning up over weight are long gone. Modern players are athletes, and as I pointed out in an interview in redmatchday, footballers are amongst the fittest athletes. All the players would have been training during the summer anyway. The extra games are just something we are going to have to deal with and something the manager will manage. St Johnstone last season started off at a similar time to us and look at the season they had, especially the way they finished their season off on Saturday.

“We will treat the qualifiers very seriously and will push hard to get through to the group stages as there are big rewards at the end of it. If you get through to the group stages you are then playing on one of the biggest stages in world football.

“I am sure the fans are looking forward to the games as well and will travel in big numbers to wherever the draw takes us.

“We hope this is the start of something. We definitely feel something special is happening. Pittodrie is a good place to be. Anyone who is in and around the club can see that. People enjoy coming into work, the players enjoy coming into training and that translates into a good side that gets results. We have the nucleus of the same squad so everyone is looking forward to hopefully another good campaign. Hopefully we can challenge for second spot again and I hope this time it does not come down to the final day of the season again and the final minute!

“We go into the new season with a lot of confidence, confidence that we have earned from the performances we have had throughout the season. We will again take one game at time, it was something everyone was fed up hearing about but it was something that worked.”

“We are all already looking forward to getting our teeth into it and getting started.”

Scotland’s friendly with Nigeria at Fulham’s Craven Cottage will take place on Wednesday the 28th of May, Kick off 8.00pm. The last time the teams met was at Pittodrie in 2002, when the Super Eagles’ came from behind to win 2-1.

Nigeria were drawn in Group F of the World Cup and will play Iran, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Argentina. Head coach Stephen Keshi selected the following provisional 30-man squad for Brazil:

Nigeria Squad

Goalkeepers: Vincent Enyeama (Lille), Austin Ejide (Hapoel Be’er Sheva), Daniel Akpeyi (Warri Wolves), Chigozie Agbim (Gombe United).

Defenders: Elderson Echiejile (Monaco), Efe Ambrose (Celtic), Godfrey Oboabona (Rizespor), Azubuike Egwuekwe (Warri Wolves), Kenneth Omeruo (Chelsea), Juwon Oshaniwa (Ashdod), Joseph Yobo (Fenerbahce), Kunle Odunlami (Sunshine Stars).

Midfielders: John Mikel Obi (Chelsea), Ramon Azeez (Almeria), Ogenyi Onazi (Lazio), Joel Obi (Parma), Nnamdi Oduamadi (Varese), Ejike Uzoenyi (Enugu Rangers), Nosa Igiebor (Real Betis), Sunday Mba (Bastia), Reuben Gabriel (Waasland-Beveren), Michael Babatunde (Volyn Lutsk).

Forwards: Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow), Shola Ameobi (Newcastle), Emmanuel Emenike (Fenerbahce); Obinna Nsofor (Chievo Verona), Peter Odemwingie (Stoke), Michael Uchebo (Cercle Brugge), Victor Moses (Chelsea), Uche Nwofor (Heerenveen).

Scotland Squad

Goalkeepers: Cammy Bell (Rangers), Matt Gilks (Blackpool), David Marshall (Cardiff), Allan McGregor (Hull)

Defenders: Christophe Berra (Ipswich), Mark Reynolds (Aberdeen) Craig Forsyth (Derby), Gordon Greer (Brighton), Grant Hanley (Blackburn), Alan Hutton (Aston Villa), Charlie Mulgrew (Celtic), Andrew Robertson (Dundee United), Steven Whittaker (Norwich).

Midfielders: Ikechi Anya (Watford), Barry Bannan (Crystal Palace), George Boyd (Hull), Scott Brown (Celtic), Craig Bryson (Derby), Chris Burke (Birmingham), Peter Pawlett (Aberdeen), James Morrison (West Brom)

Forwards: Leigh Griffiths (Celtic), Shaun Maloney (Wigan), Chris Martin (Derby), Ross McCormack (Leeds), Steven Naismith (Everton)

Withdrawals: James McArthur (Wigan), Gary Caldwell (Wigan), Graham Dorrans (West Bromwich Albion), Darren Fletcher (Manchester United)