Liam Kelly on battle to be Scotland number one as he plays down 'frustration' over Angus Gunn call

The glove rivalry stretches back 10 years to a seven-a-side park in Hong Kong. But Liam Kelly reckons renewing a friendly goalie war with Angus Gunn that previously crossed the border will have massive benefits on home soil.

The Motherwell skipper could have been forgiven for taking the hump when Gunn was convinced to switch allegiance from England to Scotland and was instantly handed the No.1 jersey for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Cyprus and Spain. Especially as Kelly has been involved in squads for over four years now without getting a single minute on the park.

But the 27-year-old shotstopper holds no grudges towards the Norwich ace, whose international career at youth level had all been for the Three Lions rather than the Lion Rampant. One of those was in a Victory Shield clash where Gunn’s England shot down Scotland 4-2, with Kelly sitting on the bench for the Scots. Around the same time the keepers faced off in the Hong Kong Citibank International Soccer Sevens with Kelly in goal for Rangers and Gunn between the sticks for Manchester City.

They are international team-mates now, though, vying for the same position alongside Hearts’ Zander Clark. And Kelly insists it would be ridiculous to claim there’s any ill-feeling in the ranks.

He said: “I’ve been in there for a long time but no, there’s no frustration. I had Craig Gordon in front of me and then the manager went with Angus in March.

“You need to respect that. Ultimately he got two clean sheets so you can’t argue with his decision. You just have to try to play well for your club and if selected, try to do your best when joining up with the squad.

“If you get asked to play then go and do your best. It never changes. Angus is a sound big guy. I’ve played