Don Cowie will help new Ross County midfielder Josh Nisbet do all he can to make the breakthrough into the Australia starting line-up.
The 25-year-old, who joined the Highlanders last month, didn’t play in the Aussies’ 1-0 defeat to Bahrain last Thursday, but came off the bench in the 0-0 draw in Indonesia on Tuesday in two World Cup qualifying campaign ties.
The 5ft 3in player joined County on three-year deal after winning the A-League player of the year in a treble-winning campaign with the Central Coast Mariners.
‘We will try to give him that platform’
Manager Cowie, who earned 10 caps as a Scotland midfielder, knows what it feels like to represent your country.
And, despite the air miles clocking up, he’s determined to see Nisbet press for more matches for Australia – even if it means flying around the globe to achieve it.
He said: “I was delighted to sign Josh, an international player.
“He has got to this point in his career by working extremely hard. Josh worked hard to break into the national team and has only done it in the last year.
“He’s not going to give up that opportunity when it comes along.
“He understands where he is in terms of trying to break into their starting team as well, he’s been on the bench for a few games.
“It is part of him going through that process of trying to really break into the team, on a consistent basis and he’s in the process of trying to do that.
“We’ll work with him, help him and try to give him that platform.”
‘Joy’ when called up for your country
Although being away with Australia means Nisbet, now with three caps to his name, has barely been in the Highlands yet, Cowie believes the benefits are too hard to ignore.
He said: “There was maybe the possibility he wasn’t going to go for this camp. That might have helped him settle within the area.
“But at the same time, you can never take away the joy of being called up to your national team.
“We knew while signing Josh that there was a possibility of that happening. We’re absolutely delighted he is away with the Socceroos and it is just part of the process.
“In general, it can only be a good thing that he is picked to play for his national team.”
Recovery key ahead of Dundee match
County, who have two points from their opening four Premiership games, host sixth-placed and unbeaten Dundee this weekend.
The Dingwall team went into the break on the back of a last-gasp 1-0 home defeat to Aberdeen, which followed a 6-0 thumping against Rangers in Glasgow, in which Nisbet made his Staggies debut.
Cowie will assess how the player is after his substitute appearance in Indonesia on Tuesday before deciding on how much involvement he can have against the Dark Blues on Saturday.
He added: “We haven’t seen Josh since the Aberdeen game.
“He arrives back in Inverness on Wednesday night. We will see how he is after his game in Indonesia.
“We will see how he recovers from that. It’s a lot of travelling.”
Smith builds up national experience
County defender Dylan Smith was also in international duty over the break as he featured in Scotland under-19s’ friendly wins against Azerbaijan and Faroe Islands and the 2-2 draw with Netherlands, with all three games in Spain.
The 18-year-old has been working his way back from a long-term recurring ankle injury.
His only first-team appearance for the Staggies so far this term was in the 2-1 Premier Sports Cup win over Raith Rovers in July, while he also played in the recent North of Scotland Cup defeat at Brora Rangers.
Cowie praised Smith for continue to rack up valuable experience wearing the navy blue of Scotland.
He said: “I am delighted for Dylan. He’s not had a lot of football. It has been a challenging 12-18 months in terms of injuries.
“For him to go away with Scotland is really important. They had a fantastic result against the Netherlands on Monday. That can only be good.
“Having one of our own, who has come through the academy, getting that recognition bodes well. It is about progressing and improving that.”
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