Findlay Curtis, the youngest member of Scotland's Under-21 squad, discusses his rapid rise from the Rangers fringe to Steve Clarke's mind in six months, highlighting his pivotal role at Kilmarnock and the key moment of leaving Ibrox for a loan spell.
At the back end of last year, Findlay Curtis was not in Scotland Under-21 s' squad for matches against Gibraltar and Bulgaria . Born on the opening day of the 2006 tournament, he is the youngest member of the Scotland squad that will take on Haiti, Morocco and Brazil in Group C. How has the 19-year-old propelled himself from the fringes at Rangers to the forefront of Steve Clarke 's mind in six months?
Perhaps the key moment came in January when Curtis left Ibrox to join struggling Kilmarnock on loan. After some bright performances at the start of the season for his parent club, both in Europe and domestically, he struggled for game-time - in the six league matches before he moved to Ayrshire, Curtis played just 13 minutes.
However, under Neil McCann and Billy Dodds - who had coached him at Rangers the season prior - Curtis was handed a pivotal role. He scored five goals in 14 appearances for the Rugby Park outfit, including four in his final five outings as Kilmarnock escaped relegation.
"The staff, players and I are absolutely delighted with this hugely positive news," McCann said. "We all have an immense sense of pride in Fin earning his spot in Steve's squad off the back of his time with us. "He deserves this recognition for the levels he's shown while on loan here. It's also a feather in the cap of the football club, and highlights what we can do for players at Killie, no matter the stage of their development.
"Fin has been a breath of fresh air to work with, and we wish him nothing but the best with Scotland this summer. " When Curtis signed, McCann's side were 11th on 14 points, just three points above Livingston. They finished on 40 points in 10th, six clear of St Mirren in the relegation play-off spot and 19 above Livi.
Clarke watched Curtis in person multiple times in the second half of the season, and was clearly impressed with what he saw.
"Young players need to play football. If they want to improve, they have to play," the Scotland head coach said.
"Sometimes that can involve making big decisions. For Findlay to leave Rangers in January and go to Kilmarnock, and then you have the ability to back up that decision, things can work in your favour.
" He also chipped in with an assist during his time with Killie and showed a maturity beyond his years, shouldering a large share of the responsibility required in a relegation dogfight. Curtis is quick, direct and evidently has an eye for goal - all attributes that Scotland have lacked in recent years, especially when Ben Gannon-Doak has been absent.
He outscored Rangers forwards Ryan Nederi, Oliver Antman and Andreas Skov Olsen during his time with Kilmarnock and Danny Rohl's side could have done with Curtis' end product as they collapsed towards the end of the season.
"It's fantastic that Findlay Curtis is going to the World Cup, and well deserved given he's scored in his past four games for Kilmarnock," former Rangers and Hearts midfielder Andy Halliday said. His place in the Scotland squad is not a total surprise, given he was named in Clarke's previous squad and made his debut against Japan in March, but his rise is a stunning one nonetheless.
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