Scotland manager Alex McLeish has revealed that West Ham forward Robert Snodgrass made the crunch decision to focus on club over country in private talks.
With the first international break upon teams, international managers have been picking their squads, but McLeish will have to do without the 30-year-old for the near-future as he looks to commit to securing his place back among the Hammers squad.
As quoted by Football.London, the Scottish boss said: “I had a chat with Snoddy and he wanted to wait and see before he really committed himself to come back in.
“Snoddy is back in the West Ham team, he is back in their plans. Let us see how the next month goes.
I think you understand when there are personal reasons as well. I need everybody who is going to be involved in these games to have the right mentality.”
After being sent to Aston Villa on loan last season, the experienced winger has reestablished himself back among the first team setup at the London Stadium, appearing in all three of their Premier League games so far.
Opinion
Well at least Manuel Pellegrini knows Snodgrass’ heart is definitely in the Hammers this season. It looked like an almost impossible task for the Scot to make his way back into the senior side after being exiled to the Championship and it seemed a certainty he would be sold on this summer, especially with all the fresh talent being brought in during the club’s massive spending spree. However, he has kept his head down, worked hard and he is currently reaping the reward of plenty of game time – although results are not quite going the way he or the team would want. To sacrifice a place in the Scotland team shows he is dedicated to making that first team spot his own – a tough ask with all the other stars battling it out for the same position – and it is that work ethic which has got him back to where he stands now. The important thing is keeping that up for the whole season, otherwise the chopping block could be beckoning.