St Mirren loan signing Ryan Hardie says that being called up to the Scotland Under-21 squad was a huge honour. Speaking to stmirren.com after the 1-1 draw with Falkirk on Saturday, Hardie also admitted that he was surprised to be included in Scot Gemmill's first squad as U21 manager as they get set to take on Lithuania and FYR Macedonia in European U21 Championship Qualifiers.
The striker, who has scored three goals for the Saints this season, said: "It came as complete surprise to me getting called up to the U21s. Every time you're away with your country it's a big honour, so to get called up is amazing.
"I'm looking forward to it," he continued. "The squad was named and there are a couple of new faces as well that I have played with before so it's not like I'm going into a new environment. Obviously I'll meet new people but I just have to go in and just do what I can do."
Something Hardie wasn't surprised at was teammate Tom Walsh's superb equaliser against Falkirk on Saturday. The two players are on loan from Rangers and Hardie knows it's something that Walsh is capable of. He said: "I've grown up with Walshy for four or five years now. Watching him week in, week out, you know he can do that. He's got that ability to score goals from anywhere so it was no surprise to me that it went in the corner [of the net]."
Hardie believes it was frustrating not to get all three points against Falkirk as the Buddies search for their first league win of the season. He said: "We stuck to the task at hand and obviously got the late goal that got us back into the game. After that, for the last 10-15 minutes or whatever it was after the goal, we dominated and had several chances to score, so it's frustrating that we've not got the first win. But we're definitely improving and now we're looking forward to the next game.
"It took a lot to dig in until we got the goal but once we got it the momentum changed and we were on the front foot."
With the club still looking to appoint a new manager, the striker said that it isn't affecting the players at the moment as they are busy concentrating on matters on the park. "I don't think it bothers the players so much. We just try to concentrate on what we do on the park and what we do on the training park. It'll be good to get a manager appointed but at the minute we are enjoying it and we're getting better. It's a tight group of boys and it's just all about hard work and the team ethic."
