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STUART McLAREN watched Ben Doak turn it on for Scotland this week and allowed himself a knowing smile.

Seeing the on-loan Middlesbrough winger star for Steve Clarke’s side against Croatia and Poland days after he’d turned 19 didn’t come as a surprise to his first international boss.

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Former Stirling Albion manager McLaren was Scotland under-16s coach when Doak made his first national appearances in 2019.

The then-Celtic youngster was still just 14 – but that didn’t stop him letting McLaren know he wasn’t happy when he was left on the bench for the Scots kids’ Victory Shield opener against the Republic of Ireland. 

McLaren – now assistant boss of Northern Ireland women’s team – laughed: “To use an old Scottish word, he went in a massive huff when the team was named and he wasn’t in it.

“He wasn’t 15 yet so he was effectively in a group that was a year older than him. Some of the other boys in the group were physically more developed than he was.

“But he still had a mentality that he was the best player and he should be playing.

“He was the type who if you said to him, ‘You’re up against the Real Madrid full-back today’, he’d have said, ‘Fine, just give me the ball.’

“He felt he was one of the best players in the squad even though he was one of the youngest and that gave us all a wee insight into his mentality.

“We won the first game against the Republic of Ireland 4-0 but he started the second one, against Northern Ireland.

“We ended up being joint winners of the Victory Shield that year, with the hosts Wales.

“The Under-17 Scotland team’s European qualifying section overlapped and they took four of the boys from the 16s age group – Ben, Dylan Reid who was at St Mirren and who’s gone to Crystal Palace, Barry Hepburn and Ryan Duncan.  

“At the age Ben was, anyone who can categorically say someone’s going to make it all the way to the full national team is lying. 

“But with Ben he had physical capability, he had willingness to take people on, but most of all he had a real mentality about succeeding.

“He was quick and he loved to dribble against a defender one-on-one. 

“With all those attributes, we were very hopeful he’d make good progress.

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“But to see him be so effective that he’s starting games for the full team at 19 is just tremendous.

“I don’t believe that coaches should take much of the credit when someone like Ben does as well as he has.

“I had a professional career myself and though it wasn’t anywhere near the heights Ben’s at, I know what it feels like when things are going well.

“When one of them makes the kind of progress Ben has, you feel privileged that you had a small part in that. 

“With young players in the international set-up, you don’t see much of them over the course of a year so a lot of their progress is down to their clubs. 

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“I was at Celtic when Ben was beginning to make his mark around the first team and I know Ange Postecoglou rated him highly – so much so that one of Ben’s first games was a sub in an Old Firm game in 2022.

“Ange had faith in him and I know there was a contract on the table for him at Celtic.

“But he made the decision to go to Liverpool and he’s now playing at a good level in the Championship which will be another good stage in his development.

“It’s great to see.”

Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page

PREM clubs fear the promised semi-automated offside technology may not now be introduced until NEXT season.

Clubs agreed to bring in the system this term at their April meeting after Prem chiefs agreed a deal with US-based Genius Sports.

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At the time, it was announced that the new system would not be available until after one of the autumn international breaks.

That was to ensure thorough testing of Genius’ system of 28 special cameras, which utilise “mesh tracking” of 10,000-plus data points on the surface of each player rather than the limb and skeletal tracking concepts used by Uefa and Fifa.

Earlier this season, it was confirmed that more testing was required before Prem bosses could give the green light, with the introduction of the technology pushed back until after Christmas.

But club bosses anticipate they will be told this week that they should not expect all the remaining wrinkles to be ironed out in time for the system to run live before the end of the season.

An update from PGMOL and the Prem executive is due to discuss the current state of play amid concerns about semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) which were heightened in Spain before the international break.

A glitch in the system used in La Liga meant Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski was wrongly ruled offside after scoring against Sociedad when a defender’s boot was mis-identified as being worn by the Polish striker.

Barca sporting director Deco spoke about the decision after the game and suggested that another system is needed as a back up.

He said: “I don’t think VAR, and not just because of this game, has fixed what in theory it was going to fix.

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“I don’t understand if it’s semi-automatic, not automatic, if someone has to press the button.

“It’s like having a car and not knowing if it’s automatic, if it’s hybrid … someone will have to explain it to us.

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“Why is it semi-automatic? I am lost. I still don’t know if the boots were yellow [Lewandowski’s] or black [Sociedad defender Nayef Aguerd’s].

“We don’t want to go there because we don’t want excuses, but there’s a question: what happened?

“Where’s the error occurred, if there’s an error? If not, no problem, but we need an explanation because we’re lost with what semi-automatic means.

“If there’s an involvement from VAR, if the referee really can’t do anything.

“If the semi-automatic system doesn’t work, then we need to return to another system. This isn’t a Barca issue, it’s about improvements for all teams.

“Some things have improved, but in other areas we still have one person’s interpretation. We still have controversial decisions, like the one at (Real Sociedad’s ground) Anoeta on Sunday, which was probably incorrect.”

Prem bosses want to ensure the new system is foolproof before its introduction although the delay after the pre-season promises are an embarrassment.

UP to 100,000 more pensioners will be plunged into poverty after losing their Winter Fuel Payments, according to the government’s own figures.

Welfare Secretary Liz Kendall finally turned over her internal estimates yesterday which laid bare the scale of the cuts.

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And it came as Labour in Scotland defied Sir Keir Starmer with a pledge to reinstate the cold-weather cash if it gets into power north of the border.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves used her Budget to withdraw the £200-£300 benefit from around 10million OAPs.

Government modelling shows around 50,000 people will be pushed onto the breadline in relative poverty next year, and 100,000 by 2027, with 50,000 in absolute poverty.

The numbers are rounded up to the nearest 50,000, so it is unclear precisely how many are affected.

The damning stats come despite ministers insisting the most vulnerable pensioners who claim pension credit will still receive the bung.

PM Sir Keir said the modelling did not account for the uptick in people claiming pension credit who are now eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment.

He also pointed to the Warms Homes Discount and the rise in the state pension under the Triple Lock.

On Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar promising to reinstate universal payments if elected First Minister, Sir Keir added: “One of the features of devolution is there are, not infrequently, different approaches taken by different nations.”

Tory Shadow Welfare Secretary Helen Whately said: “Finally the dam breaks and we get to see what Labour have known all along.

“Labour made a political choice to give inflation-busting pay rises to their union paymasters, and now 100,000 pensioners are going to be plunged into poverty.”

Lib Dem Daisy Cooper blasted: “Faced with these shocking figures, the Government must step up and do the right thing: finally reverse the Winter Fuel Payment cut.

“Cutting this allowance will drive more vulnerable older people into poverty, forcing them to choose between heating and eating.”

A Government spokesman said: “The modelling also doesn’t reflect that we have put in place extra support for those who need it most, such as our extension of the Household Support Fund. 

“Many pensioners will also benefit from the £150 Warm Home Discount and Cold Weather Payments to help with energy bills and millions of pensioners are also set to benefit from an increase of up to £470 to the state pension in April.

“This government inherited a £22 billion black hole in our public finances, which means we needed to take tough decisions to balance the books.  

“We continue to urge pensioners to check their eligibility for pension credit to ensure as many people as possible receive the support they’re entitled to.”

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Mumbai, Nov 19 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Oscar and Grammy-winning composer A. R. Rahman and his wife Saira Banu are headed to splitsville. After 29 years of staying together, the couple is reportedly parting ways. Rahman’s wife,...

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