Alan Hutton boost for Gordon Strachan

Alan Hutton can look forward to more game time for Villa.

He was the Scotland star who didn’t play club games and spent his week training with kids. But Alan Hutton’s Aston Villa exile is over as Paul Lambert welcomes him back into the first-team fold.

And the news will delight national boss Gordon Strachan as he attempts to lead the nation to the 2016 European Championships.

The 29-year-old’s lack of action at club level was causing Strachan concern ahead of the forthcoming qualifying campaign.

Although Hutton’s performances in a Scotland shirt have been highly-impressive there were concerns his form would eventually dip as a result of his lack of action.

Strachan warned his players they’d all have to be playing regularly for their respective clubs to have any chance of featuring at international level.

But it appears as though that will no longer be an issue as he is in line to feature for Villa. The former Rangers and Spurs full-back was cast aside at Villa as major cost-cutting measures were forced on Lambert.

As one of the top earners at the club, Hutton was one of several players who were banished from the first-team set-up in an attempt to hasten their departures.

No bids were received for Hutton and he spent a month at Nottingham Forest on loan before securing a second loan stint at Spanish side Mallorca during season 2012-2013.

There was limited interest in the player last summer despite his impressive displays in a Scotland shirt as he faced the prospect of another season at Villa without first-team action.

Last season he played only seven matches all for his country up until a loan move at Bolton in March helped him clock up another nine appearances.

But it’s understood the goalposts moved at Villa in terms of finances at the end of last season and Lambert was given the green light to keep the players at the club.

And Lambert is so determined to make the most of Hutton’s experience he even knocked back an offer from West Brom to take the player off Villa’s hands.

A three-year deal was on the table if Villa allowed Hutton to leave for free but Lambert wants the defender to see out the final year of his contract as a first-team player at Villa.

And that will provide Strachan with comfort as he prepares for their opening qualifying match with World Cup finalists Germany in Dortmund on September 7.