One of the many things that Ryan Porteous relishes about reporting for Scotland duty is that he is fairly sure who the manager will be when he turns up at Hampden.
Steve Clarke’s job as Scotland head coach is on a considerably firmer footing than whoever has briefly occupied the Watford dugout since the defender swapped Edinburgh for Hertfordshire last year.
Much has been made of the revolving door that has been fitted to the manager’s office at Vicarage Road, and Porteous is already onto his fourth gaffer in a little under 14 months at the club.
He insists that isn’t as much of an issue to him as it might be perceived as being from the outside looking in, but he admits that there is a reassuring constancy to the Scotland setup that has not only helped him, but the national team as a whole as they have qualified for back-to-back European Championships.
READ MORE: Ryan Porteous 'could have gone under' after Rangers spats
Clarke, after all, was the man who brought him into the international fold, and worked tirelessly with the centre back as a youngster to prepare him for when his chance came along. When it eventually did, in a crucial Nations League tie away to Ukraine, he flourished, and he has excelled in a Scotland jersey since.
That was no accident, and Porteous is full of praise for the part that Clarke has played in his rise to become a regular starter for his country.
“I’ve got so many good things to say about him,” Porteous said.
“He’s been brilliant for me. I wouldn’t want to rank managers, but he would be up there.
“He kept me in the squad from when I was 18 onwards. There was a lot of work done behind the scenes to get me prepared and ready that a lot of people didn’t see.
“He’s just shown a lot of faith in me, and it’s been good to repay him for that. Hopefully we can now start to repay him on the big international stage.
“He took me into the squad very young and he’s kept me in there. If I wasn’t starting for the team or playing for the team, he always worked with me closely and I think that has definitely benefited me in the long run.”
And, perhaps, new Watford manager Tom Cleverley will still be in situ when Porteous returns to domestic matters late next week.
“There is a lot of noise that goes with Watford,” he said.
“But it is actually a happy, settled changing room with the boys.
“Look, it’s obviously tough when people lose their jobs. So, when you come here and have a manager that knows everybody, and the players know him, then that continuity is good.
“The manager here is someone who has shown a lot of faith in me and I’m just glad that in the last year to 14 months I’ve been able to repay that faith.
“As I say, at Watford there is a lot of noise that goes around the club. It is a really good club with a great fan-base.
“But if the team isn’t performing well then it’s usually the manager who gets the blame.
“Fingers could be pointed at the players because we need to be responsible for what happens on the park.
READ MORE: Does Ryan Porteous look happy at international level? You better believe it
“I’ve been at a couple of clubs now where they tend to point the finger at the manager when it’s not going well. That’s the owners’ responsibility, it’s his job, and that’s what he’s wanted to do.
“He’s the boss at the end of the day and he makes the decisions.”
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