WHEN Stuart Armstrong speaks about the merits of testing himself against the very best football has to offer he is one man who cannot be accused of failing to practice what he preaches. The 26-year-old midfielder could quite happily have ticked along as part of Celtic’s all-conquering side, but instead chose to take himself out of that comfort zone this summer to see if he could cut it in the Barclays Premier League with Southampton. It is the kind of bravery which hopefully will lead to further personal development, even if – a bit like Scotland against Belgium at Hampden on Friday night – there are a few rude awakenings along the way.

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