Tom Miller and Barry Ferguson react to 'bizarre' James Penrice development at Rangers
James Penrice has been one of the standouts at Rangers this season.
The left-back was instrumental to Derek McInnes' tactics as the Gers eased past Celtic in the Premier Sport Cup quarter-final.
Since the Scottish defender moved from AEK Athens, he has been a regular fixture in the Light Blues' starting lineup, likely displacing Tuur Rommens in the pecking order.
Despite Penrice's success at Ibrox, Sebastien Pocognoli has decided not to include him in the 28-man Scotland squad for the upcoming international fixtures.
The Belgian manager's first test since replacing Steve Clarke will come against Slovenia, Switzerland and North Macedonia in the Nations League.
Andy Robertson, Kieran Tierney and Josh Doig are the left-backs Pocognoli has chosen for the September-October break.
What Tom Miller and Barry Ferguson have said about James Penrice situation
Rangers have an option to buy Penrice for £800,000, which feels ridiculously low considering his performances so far.
Such has been the 27-year-old's impact at Ibrox that Barry Ferguson is surprised he didn't make the cut for the Scotland squad.
The Gers icon believes the defender has stood out for the Light Blues and deserves to be in Pocognoli's setup.
Rangers TV commentator Tom Miller has been left baffled by the left-back's exclusion from the squad, but sees a silver lining in it for the Glaswegian outfit.
Speaking on Five Stars VIP on 15 September, Miller said, "The bizarre one for me is Penrice doesn't feature.
"But I think underneath it all, I'm quite content we're not seeing him travel; potential for an injury. But for his own perspective, he deserves it."
Ferguson added, "I'm not just saying because he's at Rangers. I think he has been a standout and I thought he should've been in there. I was very, very surprised when it got announced."
What latest Scotland squad says about state of Ibrox talents
Rangers have just two players from their squad who have been selected for the latest Scotland team.
The Gers once prided themselves on having elite homegrown talent, but that has diminished in recent years.
With a lack of quality coming out of Auchenhowie and other academies in Scotland, the national team's prospects have clearly taken a hit.
McInnes was expected to bring the Scottish DNA back to Ibrox, but instead he has excluded the likes of John Souttar and Connor Barron from his plans.
Andrew Cavenagh promised the addition of more homegrown talent in the summer, but it looks like the Govan side quickly took a departure from those plans after the ex-Hearts boss's arrival.