Dundee’s teenage striker Leighton McIntosh has received a call-up to the Scotland Under-19 squad, which will travel to play two friendlies against Denmark next week.
McIntosh, who is a product of the Dundee youth system, was thrown in at the deep end after the Dark Blues first-choice forward Sean Higgins was ruled out by injury for the season in March.
The youngster seized his chance with both hands, scoring some vital goals for Barry Smith’s side including the crucial counter in Dingwall against Ross County that secured their place in the first division for another season.
Those performances caught the eye of Scotland Under-19 boss Billy Stark although with McIntosh struggling with a hamstring injury, he faces an anxious wait before finding out if the hitman will be able to travel to Denmark.
Smith said, “The call-up is a fitting reward for Leighton as he has done well for us in the games he has played. It is great credit to him that Billy believes he is able to play at international level.
“From our point of view, it is also superb for the club that we have been able to bring a player through our youth system to win that recognition.”Match against QoSMeanwhile, Smith has challenged the rest of his squad to end the season on a high by capturing fourth place in the league with a win over Queen of the South on Saturday.
The Doonhamers occupy fourth spot on 46 points with Dundee and Partick Thistle just behind on 44.
The Jags play Raith Rovers at the weekend but even if they win, they have a vastly inferior goal difference to the Dark Blues, who would leapfrog Queen of the South with a victory at Palmerston.
Considering Dundee suffered a 25-point deduction after entering administration, Smith believes that would be an incredible feat.
“It is now a case of finishing as high up the league as we can,” he said. “A victory would get us up to fourth which would be a great achievement considering everything that has happened.
“It is testament to the players and the way they have gone about their business.
“They are a great set of boys and it would not have mattered whether we were trying to avoid the play-offs or simply to finish as high as we can, they will keep going right to the end of the season.”
Five of Smith’s players Rab Douglas, Matt Lockwood, Rhys Weston, Gary Harkins and Sean Higgins were selected for the first division team of the year at the SPFA Awards Dinner on Sunday evening.
The Dens Park gaffer acknowledged that while the recognition is welcome, the honours are another indication that his players could soon be attracting attention from other teams.
“It is credit to them for the season they have just had,” he said. “They thoroughly deserve to be in the team of the year which is voted for by their fellow players in the division. I would imagine that there will be interest in our players from other clubs but we will do everything we can to keep them.”
One of Smith’s players surprisingly left out of the SPFA team of the year was Craig Forsyth, who continues to be linked with sides in the SPL.
The latest speculation involves Dundee United but Smith stressed there had been no contact between the clubs about the player.