SCOTLAND head coach Shelley Kerr says she can’t wait to be reunited with her squad when they play Albania and Finland in Euro 2022 qualifying later this month.

Kerr has named 25 players for the matches against Albania at Tynecastle on October 23 and Finland in Helsinki four days later. That’s two more than usual and takes account of the domestic season only starting on October 18, while in England heavy demands are being made on the players who form the majority of the squad.

“We’re mindful the league in Scotland doesn’t start until a week on Sunday,” Kerr confirmed. “They’ll potentially only have one game before they come into camp.

“Down south they’re playing almost three times a week. We have to factor in that the players might be a bit vulnerable in that some have played lots of minutes while others haven’t played enough.”

Scotland’s last game against Northern Ireland in March, at the Pinatar Arena in Murcia, made it five wins from five for Kerr’s side since the traumatic 3-3 draw against Argentina in Paris which saw Scotland eliminated from the World Cup. The run of wins includes the opening two Group E qualifiers against Cyprus and Albania, but the return game against Cyprus and a home one against Portugal were postponed last month due to the pandemic.

The head coach admits she hasn’t found the pandemic easy to come to terms with, she said: “Your mindful that people are losing their lives, that families are in turmoil, and you sometimes feel a bit selfish when football is your world.”

“But it is my world and I have to say I’ve struggled with not being able to interact with human beings. It’s just me and the dog, so it has been tough.

“I’ve spoken to a lot of players on the phone, watched a lot of footage and I’ve been very busy – but ultimately I want to be on the pitch coaching the players. Once we get together with the squad I’m going to be like a kid at Christmas.”

Arsenal midfielder Kim Little, who missed the three-match Pinatar Cup tournament, which Scotland won, returns and her club team-mate Jen Beattie is also available again. A third player from the London club, Lisa Evans, has a calf injury and drops out.

While only seven of the squad are from Scottish Building Society SWPL clubs, three of them – goalkeeper Jenna Fife, full back Nicola Docherty and winger Lizzie Arnot – are with Rangers. In recent years Glasgow City and Hibernian have supplied all the domestic players, but Rangers’ move to a fully professional status is reflected in Kerr’s selections – another in the squad, Glasgow City midfielder Sam Kerr, will also join Rangers on a pre-contract deal at the end of the year.

Several of the 17 English-based players changed clubs during the summer, while captain Rachel Corsie and winger Claire Emslie have moved to Birmingham City and Everton respectively on loan deals from their clubs in the United States. Unusually, the only player in the squad not playing in the UK is goalkeeper Shannon Lynn, who is at the Swedish club Vittsjo.

The game against Finland will be one of the pivotal Group E matches. Kerr’s long time Scotland predecessor, Anna Signeul, is now in charge of the Finns, who lead the group.