Sheffield Wednesday boss Darren Moore's take on Callum Paterson's Scotland rejection and his dovetail role with Jordan Rhodes
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The Wednesday boss, speaking after his side’s 1-1 draw with Huddersfield Town on Wednesday evening, used the target man Scot off the bench for a second consecutive match as he replaced Jordan Rhodes after the hour mark.
With such a historic tournament on the horizon – it is the first major tournament Scotland have qualified for since 1998 – the 17-cap man will be desperate to get back among the goals and regain his place alongside club mate Liam Palmer, who made the squad.
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Hide AdScotland manager Steve Clarke said that he’d spoken to each of the players left out of the squad to explain his reasons and what they must do to regain their place.
“For me whether he’s in the Scotland squad or not, it doesn’t determine whether he’s a good player or not,” Moore told The Star.
“The capabilities he has got, he’s like any other player, he has to work hard, get his head down and be consistent and make sure he’s back in the plans for the next squad. That’s nothing different for Pato because he’s got a big part to play between now and the end of the season.”
On the dilemma facing him with regard to who plays up front, Moore was pragmatic. Paterson is the club’s leading scorer along with Josh Windass on seven goals but Rhodes has impressed in recent weeks, contributing an assist in the Terriers draw.
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Hide AdRhodes looked a dejected figure as he left the field after 61 minutes but Moore reiterated the importance of rotating his squad through a non-stop fixture schedule.
“I’m sharing the load,” he said. “Jordan has had a quick turnaround again from Saturday and the big thing for me is maximising the squad and using it as best I can, especially with the quick turnaround in games.
“The players are highly committed, there’s a real physical demand on players and for them to recover in that short space of time is really crucial. That’s why we’ve been using the bodies we have.”