PERSEVERING with certain individuals when they were no longer displaying the sort of form that had led to them being called up by Scotland proved costly for Gordon Strachan last year.

The national side lost two and drew one of their opening four Russia 2018 qualifiers as a result and soon found themselves in second-bottom spot in Group , leaving them, or so it seemed at the time, without any chance of reaching the finals.

A subsequent switch to bringing in for extended runs young and hungry players who were untested at international level has gone an awfully long way towards successfully and quite unexpectedly resurrecting the campaign.

So, it is to be hoped that, rather than turning to squad members simply because they have represented the national team in the past, Strachan hands chances to new, or newish, recruits who are enjoying decent form.

Stuart Armstrong and Scott Brown being ruled out of the meetings with Slovakia at Hampden on Thursday and Slovenia in the Stozice Stadium in Ljubljana on Sunday, two games in which nothing less than outright victory will suffice, is a devastating blow for Scotland. The Celtic midfielders, along with their club-mates Leigh Griffiths and Kieran Tierney, were key players in the wins over Slovenia, Lithuania and Malta as well as the draw against England.

But, as 59,259 fans witnessed at Parkhead at the weekend in what was probably the best game of the season so far, there are ready-made replacements for the injured duo in the shape of John McGinn of Hibernian and Callum McGregor of Celtic.

Central midfield is an area where Scotland have an abundance of decent options. Barry Bannan, Darren Fletcher, James McArthur and James Morrison could all slot in there and do an excellent job. They have certainly done so in the past. Further forward, too, Morrison and Robert Snodgrass can play off lone striker Griffiths.

However, there is much to be said for taking a chance on an unproven talent with a burning desire to prove himself on a greater stage. The qualifiers this year have shown that.

The drive, energy, enthusiasm and guile which the likes of Armstrong, Griffiths and Tierney have brought to the team have been key to a dramatic turnaround in fortunes.

Bringing in McGinn, even though he has done well in all four of his appearances for his country, not least on his debut in a friendly against Denmark last year, and McGregor, who was called up yesterday, would be certainly be a gamble in such a big game. It would be far easier for Strachan, whose position as manager will be under threat if second place in the qualifying section and a play-off spot isn’t secured, to give the nod to Bannan, Fletcher, McArthur or Morrison.

But McGinn and McGregor both showed at the weekend, when they each scored two goals in an engrossing contest, that they can exert a major influence on matches despite their tender years. There would certainly be no shortage of raw endeavour if McGinn and McGregor were given the nod to face Jan Kozak’s charges and that could help Strachan’s men play with the pace and work-rate which has been so important to Scotland’s revival.

McGregor can operate as a deep-lying central midfielder in the 4-2-3-1 formation Strachan favours, or further forward, either just off the centre-forward or out wide, with equal effectiveness.

The understanding the Celtic contingent have – and James Forrest, Craig Gordon, Griffiths and Tierney remain involved – has been important in the national team’s recent run and McGregor, despite being uncapped, could slot into the starting line-up effortlessly.

Brendan Rodgers has no doubts his protege could make the step up with ease and has expressed amazement at his omission in the past. That a good team is a mixture of youth and experience may be one of the oldest cliches in sport, but it remains true. Hopefully Strachan recognises that.