As if being substituted in a draw against Andorra wasn’t bad enough Greg Docherty is waking up to comparisons with Scott Brown!
A January transfer for an undisclosed fee brokered by Douglas Park between Hamilton and Sevco has catapulted the young midfielder into an entirely new stratosphere.
Living up to the inflated expectations of the gullible is one thing but being told to match up and better a player on route to his eighth Scottish championship by a former professional piles on even more pressure.
Docherty has started just seven matches since his January switch to Ibrox with many fans accusing him of playing Hide and Seek during Celtic’s recent 3-2 win at Ibrox.
With that defeat now two weeks in the past Kevin Thomson has decided to start the hype over the great white hope known as The Doc.
“You need to get on top of Scott Brown and he is there for everyone to shoot at because he’s a top player,” the former Rangers (IL) midfielder told the Daily Record after appearing in front of 15,000 fans at an Ibrox charity match.
“It was the same when I was at Hibs and Barry Ferguson was at Rangers. You had to try to compete with the best players. Scott is right up the top of the tree and it is a challenge for the current midfielders to try to rough him up.
“I also played against Greg when he was at Hamilton and I was up at Dundee. He was just breaking through at the time and he was a powerhouse of a boy.
“It is hard when you come to a club like this because you get judged straight away. That is just the way it is and you have to accept that as a player.
“He will grow into the jersey and get better and better. He is the modern-day midfielder. He gets around but I would like to see him add goals to his game.
“He is more than capable and he notched a few for Hamilton. When he finds his stride here he will be a good asset for the club.”
Docherty was replaced after 53 minutes by Eamonn Brophy as Scotland drew 1-1 with Andorra.
Andorra has a population of approximately 77,000, roughly the same amount as East Kilbride.