Leigh Griffiths has every right to feel angry about his Scotland snub, according to Chris Sutton.
The BT Sport pundit believes Gordon Strachan has called it wrong after claiming his need to balance physicality with skill makes it difficult for Griffiths to lead the line for his country.
The national team boss has selected Derby's Chris Martin and Steven Fletcher of Sheffield Wednesday up top for the Scots' three World Cup qualifiers so far, leaving Celtic hitman Griffiths to be satisfied with two substitute run-outs.
Griffiths struck 40 goals for the Hoops last term yet that has not been enough to force his way into the national team starting lineup.
Now Strachan has tried to justify his decision to leave the 5-foot-8 Parkhead frontman on the bench by claiming "you need to have a certain amount of height in international football teams to defend set plays.''
While Griffiths responded in light-hearted fashion by changing his Twitter name to £Shorty, Sutton feels he should be seething with the way he has been treated.
Speaking as he helped promote BT Sport's coverage of Celtic's Champions League clash with Borussia Monchengladbach, he told Press Association Sport: "It's ludicrous. Is Messi too small then? I just don't agree with what Gordon has said at all.
"It should be horses for courses.
"Scotland went to Slovakia and played a team with two centre-halves in Martin Skrtel and Jan Durica who love the physical side of the game but don't like being taken in behind. They left a striker on the bench who can do just that, so I think that Gordon is absolutely wrong with his point of view.
"He is wrong to play the likes of Chris Martin in front of Leigh Griffiths.
"If you want to win football matches you have to have people who can score goals.
"I don't think Leigh is as bad a target man as Gordon is making out. What he is, though, is a natural finisher, a match-winner who scored 40 goals last season.
"As players we all had opinions of other players and if I was Leigh Griffiths I'd be severely angry and feel I was the victim of an injustice because he's a better player than Chris Martin. That's the long and the short of it.''
Griffiths' situation is nothing new as he played a grand total of just 15 minutes during Scotland's failed Euro 2016 qualifying bid.
Strachan believes set-pieces are vital at international level, but his selection of Martin and Fletcher ahead of Griffiths is not popular with a sizeable chunk of the Tartan Army, who then questioned the selection of the 5frt 6ins Barry Bannan against Lithuania and Slovakia.
Strachan's side took just one point from that recent double header, leaving their hopes of reaching Russia in two years' time hanging by a thread.
The manager told several Sunday newspapers: "People can argue that toss and debate it. But that is fact. You need to have a certain amount of height in international football teams to defend set plays. It's not just Leigh Griffiths. You've got to try and get the balance. I could pick a huge team but there would be a problem passing the ball.
"I could pick the smallest team and they could pass the ball better. But what we've struggled with is physical combat in the middle of the park and set plays.''
Sutton reckons one man who does possess all the attributes Strachan is looking for is Oliver Burke.
Sutton was stunned to see the RB Leipzig winger left out of the team which lost 3-0 to the Slovakians despite starting the 1-1 Hampden draw against Lithuania just three days earlier.
"The Oliver Burke situation - what was all that about?'' asked Sutton.
"How could he not get a place on a 10-man bench. Strachan names two sub goalkeepers but left behind someone who is being talked up as Scotland's next big talent.
"He found himself two goals down in Slovakia but instead of throwing on someone with bags of power and pace, he left him sitting in the stands.
"What sort of message is that sending out to the boy?''