Strachan looks for Watt to be Scotland's X-Factor

Gordon Strachan has given Tony Watt a chance to show he can be the player who takes Scotland to the next level.

Watt, who is on loan at Blackburn from Charlton, has been handed a surprise call-up for the friendly against the Czech Republic on March 24.

Strachan has named nine uncapped players over two separate squads for the Prague test and a Hampden encounter with Denmark five days later.

Watt's career might well have peaked as an 18-year-old when he hit a Champions League winner against Barcelona at Celtic Park, before moving on from his boyhood heroes to play for Lierse, Standard Liege, Charlton, Cardiff and now Paul Lambert's Rovers, where he has netted twice in seven matches.

But Strachan believes he has the potential to become a Scotland talisman in the mould of Welshman Gareth Bale or Poland's Robert Lewandowski.

"Tony is a bit different from most Scottish players," the Scotland manager said. "We lack maybe in core strength in our younger Scottish players, or even further up.

"Tony is physically strong. And Tony gets stronger when he runs. He's got this ability when he runs, he is strong and can hand people off.

"And he can make goals. If you watch Scotland over the last couple of years, we score goals after eight, nine passes. That's hard work, you know.

"With Tony, you can throw a ball up to Tony, at his best, and he can beat two people and stick it in the back of the net.

"We need something like that, because most international teams have players that change them from decent into very good.

"Lewandowski, if we had him in our squad, we would be at the European Championship; Bale, we'd have him; (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic at Sweden makes them go up a level.

"So we are looking for players, and it mightn't be Tony, but can we develop one or two players like him that can take us from a right good, decent side to being a smashing side?"

More than one manager has grown exasperated with 22-year-old Watt's attitude, including Neil Lennon. Billy Stark regularly overlooked him when Scotland Under-21 head coach, and the former Airdrie player had a fractious relationship with Lierse boss Tony Menzo.

Strachan said: "He has been a few places and a few people have said the same thing to him, but he has an ability and it's up to him where he wants to go with that ability.

"It's not up to anybody else. You make yourself into a player, you determine where you go in life.

"But he has the ability to go to a very high level."

The other uncapped call-ups are Dundee goalkeeper Scott Bain, Wolves midfielder Kevin McDonald, Aberdeen's Kenny McLean, Leeds defender Liam Cooper, Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney, Hibernian midfielder John McGinn, Brighton winger Jamie Murphy and teenage winger Oliver Burke of Nottingham Forest.

Fit-again Hull winger Robert Snodgrass is recalled along with QPR winger Matt Phillips and Leeds midfielder Liam Bridcutt, but there is no place for Aberdeen pair Graeme Shinnie and Mark Reynolds or any Rangers player.

Middlesbrough's Jordan Rhodes is not among five strikers, while James Morrison, Shaun Maloney and James McArthur are injured.

Strachan has named 28 players once across the two squads and five players in both squads.

He added: "There's another group - Jordan, Ross McCormack, Johnny Russell, Lee Wallace - guys that I know can do a job. But there is no point bringing them along and taking them all around Europe and them maybe not getting a game, because I want to see the other guys I have brought in.

"I know what Graeme (Shinnie) can do, I know what Mark Reynolds can do.

"I know I can trust these guys, they have been in squads. But I must look to see if there is anything out there better. And players understand."