YORK City's young braveheart Graeme Law is relishing the gruelling prospect of three international battles in the space of just five days.

The City trainee has now linked up with his Scottish Under-19 international team-mates ahead of their opening games in the first qualifying round for the European Championship finals, to be staged in Liechenstein in July 2003.

The first stage of qualification kicks off in Slovenia next week when the young Scots will tackle the host nation on Monday, Yugoslavia on Wednesday and Iceland on Friday.

The winners and runners-up of next week's mini-tournament will then progress to the second qualifying round.

Law, who made his international debut last month as a substitute when Scotland beat Switzerland 2-1 in a friendly, is desperate to help his country to qualify for next summer's finals.

And according to the 18-year-old, helping Scotland to success can only aid his development and boost his Bootham Crescent career too.

"It's going to be a hectic week and with a squad of just 18 there will probably be some rotation," he explained.

"Three games in five days will be tiring but, hopefully, that should mean I will get a start."

He added: "It is a great learning experience and I'm really looking forward to it.

"The set-up with Scotland is brilliant and when I went up there last time the training was unbelievable.

"It is a real step up, but I'm really enjoying it."

To emphasise the point, all but one of Law's Scottish team-mates hail from either Premiership or Scottish Premier League clubs, including the Glasgow giants of Rangers and Celtic.

But Law is unfazed by his brush with the big-time and reckons his international call-up has been a terrific confidence booster.

"It is all good experience and hopefully if I can make this step up then I can also make the step up into the first team at City," he reasoned.

The teenager was a regular in the City reserve team last season and towards the end of the campaign was also drafted into the first-team squad by manager Terry Dolan.

Law, who can play anywhere down the right-hand side, made the substitutes' bench on five occasions but did not actually get the chance to make his first-team debut.

"I just have to be patient, but hopefully if the gaffer gives me a chance I will take it," he said.

Law, who was actually born in Fife before his parents moved to England when he was a toddler, has an added incentive for trying to qualify for next summer's championships.

Also looking to qualify for the tournament is Law's City team-mate and youth team striker Levent Yalcin, a member of the Turkey U19 squad.

As reported in the Evening Press, Yalcin has been selected for the Turkey U19 ranks to face Egypt in a friendly double-header next month.

The young Turkish squad and Yalcin, who made his first-team debut for City last month, will play Egypt twice - on Friday, November 1, and on Sunday, November 3.

Updated: 11:30 Saturday, October 19, 2002