Russell Martin isn’t normally one for nostalgia. While his club and country career is still moving at breakneck speed, his fear is that looking over his shoulder will only slow him down. Yet when Ikechi Anya’s name is raised in conversation, the Norwich captain can't help but briefly pause for thought. The Watford man’s presence in the Scotland squad serves as a timely reminder of the remarkable journey both have travelled to reach this point. Seven years ago, with both players domiciled at Adams Park, the inauspicious home of lowly Wycombe Wanderers, the notion that they would one day be playing international football seemed rather absurd. Russell Martin's international career with Scotland has taken off in recent months . Martin (left) in good spirits at training alongside Steven Naismith (centre) and Shaun Maloney . A late developer on the international scene, Martin moved to Peterborough and then to Norwich before Craig Levein called him into the squad three years ago by virtue of his Scottish father. For Anya, the road to international recognition has been rather more scenic: Oxford Town, Halesowen Town, Northampton and then a left-field move to Spain with Glenn Hoddle’s Academy. The B teams of Sevilla and Celta Vigo, then Granada, Cadiz and then a parachute back to the English game with Watford where Gordon Strachan was watching. And now this. Germany, Poland and the Republic of Ireland. Old friends reunited on the biggest stage imaginable. ‘You don’t get much time in football to take stock and reflect,’ Martin said. ‘But sometimes you have to and think: “I have come a long way”. Doing that while not standing still is important. ‘But I’m well aware of how we’ve both done and how far we’ve come. I’m proud of that and glad I’ve done it this way. We played in the youth team together at Wycombe and also came through to the first team together. Then we went our separate ways. ‘It’s been great to see the journey he’s been on, to see how far he’s come. He always had ability and a lot of potential. Unfortunately it didn’t quite come through at the time. ‘He’s had to do it the hard way and he’s had a long, old journey. It was a bold decision for him to go to Spain. He went to Northampton first — I actually played against him when I was playing for Peterborough. Ikechi Anya is Scotland's brightest prospect . ‘I caught up with him then and he said he was exploring a few different things. I always kept an eye on him over there (Spain) and then when we went to pre-season we played against Hoddle’s Academy. So we always had these little moments when we caught up. ‘Not many have come through there. A few have played in the Football League but not many the way he did it by getting signed by a B team in Spain and then there was that link with the owners at Grenada, then there came the move to Watford. But it’s worked out really well for him. ‘A player like that, and how hard he worked, there was no doubt in my mind he was going to come into football at some point. It was just a question of at what level. You just hoped he got a chance to kick on and he has.’ Martin can’t help but grin while recalling his early exchanges with Anya at Wycombe when the distant prospect of representing Scotland one day was whispered about. Asked if Castlemilk-born Anya knew Martin was eligible for Scotland back then, he quipped: ‘I didn’t even know I was Scottish in those days! No, we did know. We’d had a chat about it as I was desperate to get into the Under-21s at that point but that didn’t quite happen. ‘He said he was born there as well. I don’t know if he knew about me but I knew about him. He has got quite a diverse background. ‘He’s still the same height he was then although he had bigger hair at that point. But as a person — yes — he has grown.’ Of that, there is no doubt. Just 14 month after making his debut for Scotland in a home loss to Belgium, Anya’s place in the hearts of the Tartan Army has long been secured. If his engagingly bright off-field personality is enough to illuminate a darkened room, then the moment he sped away to beat Manuel Neuer in Dortmund cemented his status and underscored what he’s capable of bringing to the table. ‘He has been brilliant,’ Martin opined. ‘He offers us something different that not a lot of players have got. He’s got electrifying pace while he’s also now added a real end product to his game. ‘I think his pace scares defenders that’s for sure. You don’t want to be coming up against someone that quick as there’s not many ways you can handle it. He scored against Germany and then produced an assist against Poland.’ Anya scored for Scotland against Germany in their opening Euro 2016 qualifier . Martin believes the man-manager skills of Strachan have much to do with Anya’s remarkable rise in a dark blue jersey and added: ‘The manager has given him so much confidence. When he does come away with Scotland you can tell he’s really bubbly. ‘He loves being involved with Scotland and you can see it with the way he plays. ‘It’s testament to how hard he works — not many work harder than him. ‘I’m really pleased for him with this success, especially having known him for so long. ‘The transformation in him has been huge over the past 10 years. ‘He always had the ability but I don’t think he had the mentality to cope with it when he was 17, 18. Which a lot of players don’t. ‘Sometimes it takes a bit longer. At that age, when you work hard and have a lot of ability, you can still be hard on yourself. ‘You need a mentor to put an arm around you and point you in the right direction.’
Russell Martin is enjoying a flourishing Scotland career .
Ikechi has gone the long way round to make his mark as an international .
Scotland take on Ireland in a Euro 2016 qualifier at Celtic Park on Friday .
England are the visitors to the same ground next Tuesday .
Russell Martin isn’t normally one for nostalgia. While his club and country career is still moving at breakneck speed, his fear is that looking over his shoulder will only slow him down. Yet when Ikechi Anya’s name is raised in conversation, the Norwich captain can't help but briefly pause for thought. The Watford man’s presence in the Scotland squad serves as a timely reminder of the remarkable journey both have travelled to reach this point. Seven years ago, with both players domiciled at Adams Park, the inauspicious home of lowly Wycombe Wanderers, the notion that they would one day be playing international football seemed rather absurd. Russell Martin's international career with Scotland has taken off in recent months . Martin (left) in good spirits at training alongside Steven Naismith (centre) and Shaun Maloney . A late developer on the international scene, Martin moved to Peterborough and then to Norwich before Craig Levein called him into the squad three years ago by virtue of his Scottish father. For Anya, the road to international recognition has been rather more scenic: Oxford Town, Halesowen Town, Northampton and then a left-field move to Spain with Glenn Hoddle’s Academy. The B teams of Sevilla and Celta Vigo, then Granada, Cadiz and then a parachute back to the English game with Watford where Gordon Strachan was watching. And now this. Germany, Poland and the Republic of Ireland. Old friends reunited on the biggest stage imaginable. ‘You don’t get much time in football to take stock and reflect,’ Martin said. ‘But sometimes you have to and think: “I have come a long way”. Doing that while not standing still is important. ‘But I’m well aware of how we’ve both done and how far we’ve come. I’m proud of that and glad I’ve done it this way. We played in the youth team together at Wycombe and also came through to the first team together. Then we went our separate ways. ‘It’s been great to see the journey he’s been on, to see how far he’s come. He always had ability and a lot of potential. Unfortunately it didn’t quite come through at the time. ‘He’s had to do it the hard way and he’s had a long, old journey. It was a bold decision for him to go to Spain. He went to Northampton first — I actually played against him when I was playing for Peterborough. Ikechi Anya is Scotland's brightest prospect . ‘I caught up with him then and he said he was exploring a few different things. I always kept an eye on him over there (Spain) and then when we went to pre-season we played against Hoddle’s Academy. So we always had these little moments when we caught up. ‘Not many have come through there. A few have played in the Football League but not many the way he did it by getting signed by a B team in Spain and then there was that link with the owners at Grenada, then there came the move to Watford. But it’s worked out really well for him. ‘A player like that, and how hard he worked, there was no doubt in my mind he was going to come into football at some point. It was just a question of at what level. You just hoped he got a chance to kick on and he has.’ Martin can’t help but grin while recalling his early exchanges with Anya at Wycombe when the distant prospect of representing Scotland one day was whispered about. Asked if Castlemilk-born Anya knew Martin was eligible for Scotland back then, he quipped: ‘I didn’t even know I was Scottish in those days! No, we did know. We’d had a chat about it as I was desperate to get into the Under-21s at that point but that didn’t quite happen. ‘He said he was born there as well. I don’t know if he knew about me but I knew about him. He has got quite a diverse background. ‘He’s still the same height he was then although he had bigger hair at that point. But as a person — yes — he has grown.’ Of that, there is no doubt. Just 14 month after making his debut for Scotland in a home loss to Belgium, Anya’s place in the hearts of the Tartan Army has long been secured. If his engagingly bright off-field personality is enough to illuminate a darkened room, then the moment he sped away to beat Manuel Neuer in Dortmund cemented his status and underscored what he’s capable of bringing to the table. ‘He has been brilliant,’ Martin opined. ‘He offers us something different that not a lot of players have got. He’s got electrifying pace while he’s also now added a real end product to his game. ‘I think his pace scares defenders that’s for sure. You don’t want to be coming up against someone that quick as there’s not many ways you can handle it. He scored against Germany and then produced an assist against Poland.’ Anya scored for Scotland against Germany in their opening Euro 2016 qualifier . Martin believes the man-manager skills of Strachan have much to do with Anya’s remarkable rise in a dark blue jersey and added: ‘The manager has given him so much confidence. When he does come away with Scotland you can tell he’s really bubbly. ‘He loves being involved with Scotland and you can see it with the way he plays. ‘It’s testament to how hard he works — not many work harder than him. ‘I’m really pleased for him with this success, especially having known him for so long. ‘The transformation in him has been huge over the past 10 years. ‘He always had the ability but I don’t think he had the mentality to cope with it when he was 17, 18. Which a lot of players don’t. ‘Sometimes it takes a bit longer. At that age, when you work hard and have a lot of ability, you can still be hard on yourself. ‘You need a mentor to put an arm around you and point you in the right direction.’
Russell Martin isn’t normally one for nostalgia. domiciled at Adams Park, the inauspicious home of international career with Scotland has taken off you have to and think: “I have come a long way”. playing for Peterborough. Ikechi Anya is diverse background. ‘He’s still the same height making his debut for Scotland in a home loss to Euro 2016 qualifier . Martin believes the