Tony Mowbray has urged Kristi Montgomery to grasp his opportunity with Scotland after praising his development at Blackburn Rovers.
The midfielder has been called up to the senior squad for the first time after an impressive start to the season at Ewood Park.
Montgomery has already started more Championship matches this term than last and now feels a fixture in the Rovers midfield.
Mowbray wants the 22-year-old to feel as though he belongs on the international stage and ensure he doesn't shy away from his chance.
"I said to him before he left, make sure you bring your personality to the training and show everybody who you are and what you are," Mowbray told RoversTV.
"Don't be a shy kid who feels as if you don't deserve to be there or you don't warrant being there.
"You've got to go and bring some personality into training and do what you do. Bring your superpowers, your running ability, your physicality.
"Don't go around kicking your team-mates, of course, as I say, they're in training every day with us, but you have to show them what you're all about as a football player and your tenacity and your ability to get around the pitch is the main strength of his.
"I call it pitch personality, really. He has to believe in himself. We can work on his taking the ball off his back foot, getting turned, playing behind the pressure of the strikers who are threatening our defensive line.
"If they can stick it through and he can get turned and run away from them, he works on that sort of stuff every day. He's improving, he's getting better, his understanding of the game is becoming greater.
"He's got a lot of growth still to go. I don't want to sit here and say, wow, he's the finished articl;e they've got an amazing footballer.
"He's still a young boy who's got lots to learn, but he's got wonderful attributes and if he brings that pitch personality, he can be a top player."
Montgomery is far from the top of the mountain and his challenge now is to maintain the levels he's showcased.
That comes through hard work and doing extras with the coaching team, as he often does.
It is another glowing example for the Rovers Academy too. Montgomery and Tom Atcheson's developments in the last 12 months have been a further shining light on the fantastic work that's done in the youth set-up.
With Rovers needing to plug the financial gap by developing their only talent, opportunity is key. Mowbray ticks all those boxes with a reputation for nurturing talent.
"It's great for the academy system here. He's obviously not the only one, but great developing a young footballer and becoming a man in front of your eyes," Mowbray said.
"He has to make sure he stays on it because there's lots of footballers who've got to a certain age, have something like this happen and then you never hear them again.
"I think he's almost cementing himself as a fixture in our team now. I think from even a couple of months I've been here, I can see some confidence and growth in him.
"We can only speak positively because, as I say, I feel as if he's cementing himself into our team. For a young boy, the Championship's a hard, hard division and he's standing up to the rigours of it.
"He's got a lot of work and I think he understands that. I think one of his positives is that he understands that he needs to work every day.
"When the sessions are finishing, he's the one who goes and gets the mannequins and gets Damien or Doddsy to do the extra bit with playing off his back foot, getting turned, playing forward passes.
"He's got a desire to be better, so that's not a bad tool to start with."
Montgomery's challenge is to try and displace some of the more established names at international level and continue performing for Rovers.
There is plenty of competition but Mowbray believes he's got the raw attributes to make a good career for himself.
"He shows that hunger to want to get better, to want to be better than the established players," the head coach continued.
"So try and cement yourself so that the manager has to pick you in the team and then pick whoever he's got around him.
"He's got such wonderful attributes of mobility and how much ground he covers and the tenacity he brings with it; he scored a great goal as well a couple of weeks ago. His ability to play through lines, he's getting better and better every week. I'm pleased for him.
"It's down to him though now. He has to go there and show the people around the team, the coaching staff and the manager that he warrants it and he should become a fixture, hopefully, if he can play to the best of his ability."
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