Hibs' lack of Scotland contenders is sign of the times but closest I got was Berti's circle of love - Tam McManus

The referee had been in to check the boots and Berti Vogts ordered our Scotland B team to form a circle of love in the middle of the dressing room.

We had to all hold hands, I was cuddled up to Russell Anderson and the gaffer told us to think positive thoughts and ask ourselves how we could go out against Germany and make an impact. Bizarre, that night at Pittodrie remains one of the strangest of my career; eyes wide shut, squeezing Russell's palm and focusing the mind before going out and losing 1-0. My recollection was also having an absolute stinker.

We all had to stand there and clap one another, it felt like some kind of hippie commune ritual rather than preparing to play for your country. Of all the regrets from my career, and there are many, it's that Berti handed out 856 full caps to players during his time as Scotland boss and I didn't get any. He came and watched me play and score in a friendly against Everton. He was scouring the world for strikers and when I hit the back of the net I waved up at him, caps being thrown around like confetti and I missed out to the likes of Nigel Quashie.

As a kid I was capped from the age of 17 all the way up to the B team. I also gained 14 Scotland under-21 caps but when I was at Easter Road - the only player I remember being capped at senior level was wee John O'Neill. Not having a single player at Hibs pushing for a place in Steve Clarke 's squad is more than just a sign of the times, it's also another huge negative for our game because of Brexit. What we are seeing now is all of the good young Scottish players heading to big clubs down south and that's before they even getting into their first teams at the likes of Hearts, Hibs, Motherwell and Aberdeen.

Brexit is now in