Scot Gemmill wants Scotland youngsters to follow Oliver Burke's lead

New Scotland Under-21 boss Scot Gemmill has urged his young hopefuls to copy Oliver Burke's example if they want to fulfil their international ambitions.

The former Nottingham Forrest and Everton midfielder has named his first squads since replacing Ricky Sbragia as the Scots' youth team chief.

He has handed 10 youngsters their first call-ups to the 21s but Gemmill wants his players to dream big.

And he reckons £13million teen sensation Burke is the perfect role model for his aspiring recruits.

The 19-year-old has made a swift progress since breaking out of Nottingham Forest's academy two years ago.

The pacey wideman's City Ground displays persuaded big-spending German outfit RB Leipzig to make him their latest purchase, while full national team boss Gordon Strachan has been so impressed by the Kirkcaldy-born youngster he gave him the job of spearheading Scotland's attack as they kicked-off their World Cup qualifying campaign against Malta earlier this month.

Burke underlined his potential when he crowned his first Leipzig start on Sunday with a debut Bundesliga goal in a 1-1 draw with Cologne, but Gemmill hopes he is just the first player to emerge from the Hampden production line.

"Oliver is a real, obvious example of how quickly it can escalate for a young player,'' said Gemmill, who won 26 caps as a player.

"It should motivate the lads by showing that if you're doing well at the younger levels then the manager is prepared to play you in the full squad.

"I was lucky to work with Oliver with the Under-19s.

"I was actually one of the first people to be sent to watch him when we found out he was eligible to play for Scotland. His talent was obvious and he was full of potential.

"He seems to have made a good start to his time in Germany.

"He has everything you need to become a top player - that's what makes his potential so outstanding.

"Not only is he physically very impressive, as is his pace, but he is a very grounded individual with a very good attitude. You can be as fast as you want but if you haven't got the intelligence or the ambition to get with it you're not going to get very far.

"But Oliver is willing to listen and wants to get better. That's an important message for the other young players.''

Gemmill has taken up the reins of the 21s after Sbragia's tenure ended with another failed qualification bid.

Next month's European Championships qualifiers with Iceland and Macedonia are already meaningless affairs with the Scots second bottom of their six-team group and out of the race to reach next year's finals in Poland.

But with the new man in charge already setting his sights on the 2019 tournament, it's out with the old and in with the new as the likes of Ryan Gauld, Ryan Christie and Jason Cummings have all been dispensed with for the final two games of the campaign.

In their place comes the likes of Nottingham Forest defender Alex Iacovitti, Chelsea midfielder Ruben Sammut, Celtic playmaker Aidan Nesbitt and Rangers striker Ryan Hardie - who have worked with Gemmill at under-17 and under-19 level.

Gemmill said: "As soon as I was told I was talking the games my focused moved to the players who are eligible to play in the next campaign.

"It seemed common sense to prioritise those players.

"The full focus of the staff is to leave no stone unturned in terms of making sure we have maximised our time between now and the next qualification campaign.

"We think these players deserve their opportunity. Most of them have played at younger age levels and now it's about giving them the opportunity to see if they can play at 21s.

"I'm very confident they can do it but you never really know until you put them in there.''