| ‘Heggie’, capped eight times for his country, feels sure the young Dundonian can cope if he’s pitched in for a Scotland debut against the Czech Republic at Hampden on Wednesday evening.
Kenneth was in dominant form for his club as they picked up another three points against Falkirk at the weekend.
And Paul, filling in for manager Peter Houston, who is assisting national boss Craig Levein this week, is convinced the 22-year-old has what it takes to step up to the international stage.
“I’ve known about Garry for a long time, but I’ve only been an ‘insider’ for about a month or so and he’s been excellent.
“He, obviously, had a spell out on loan at Cowdenbeath when Craig (Levein) was here, and I think that has helped him.
“He seems to have matured not only as a player but also as a person and it’s great to see him, along with Paul Dixon and Andy Webster, get international recognition.”
Paul took time to praise the whole team for their comprehensive win over the Bairns.
“We were delighted with the win, especially with the reaction we got after losing to Celtic.
“We were hoping to bounce back, and we did. I thought we were exceptional in the first half against a side who are fighting for their lives and who had a great result the previous week against Aberdeen.
“Everyone worked hard and I thought the goalie and the back four were solid, which gave us the base to build on.”
Paul also credited Morgaro Gomis, who was on target twice in the 3-0 win.
It was the first time the French-born midfielder had scored in front of the Tannadice fans.
“Myself, Dave Bowman, Morgaro and Prince Buaben were talking only last week about midfielders scoring goals, so I was delighted to see Morgaro get a couple.
“Hopefully, he can take confidence from that and get a few more between now and the end of the season.”
Webster, who missed the game against the Bairns due to a calf injury, shrugged off his calf injury to train today.
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