Oli good news for uncapped kid and Barry
ALEX McLEISH will hand Oli McBurnie and Barry Douglas their shot to shine when he names his first squad today since returning to the Scotland job.
The untried pair will join Manchester United’s Scott McTominay as the fresh faces in McLeish’s squad for the future as he prepares for friendlies against Costa Rica and Hungary.
Swansea striker McBurnie is on loan at Championship club Barnsley where the 21-year-old has scored five goals in his last six games.
The Leeds-born player has been promoted after 12 Under-21 caps as McLeish puts his focus on blooding the next generation.
Douglas, who played for Queen’s Park and Dundee United, is more experienced having signed for Polish side Lech Poznan and Turkish club Konyaspor before joining Wolves last summer.
But this will be the 28-year-old’s first taste of international duty, Scotland already being strong at fullback with Kieran Tierney and Andrew Robertson.
McLeish’s backroom team was also confirmed yesterday with Peter Grant and James McFadden named assistant coaches.
Celtic goalkeeping coach Stevie Woods has also been brought in with the trio agreeing two-year deals.
McLeish said: “The three offer a complementary blend of experience, enthusiasm and success – both as players and coaches – and are fully aware of the responsibility that comes with being part of the national team staff.
“Peter has enjoyed a distinguished coaching career and is already familiar with the set-up in the SFA’s performance department having worked with our Under-21 team last year.
“James brings a youthful enthusiasm to the coaching team but beyond that he offers a relatable figure for the players to look up to.
“He bore the hopes of a nation on his shoulders for many years and was a talisman for the national team during his career.
“To have a former player of that ilk on the coaching staff can only be an inspiration for the players. Stevie is a highly-respected figure as a goalkeeping coach and already well known to many of the players.
“With these appointments the final pieces are in place for my backroom staff.
“We can now begin the process of selecting and training a successful team to entertain the Scotland supporters and take us back to a major tournament, starting with the UEFA Nations League matches later this year.” IT was the day West Ham’s bubbles burst and the Taxpayers stadium was consumed by mutiny.
As crestfallen Mark Noble sifted through the wreckage of mob rule – which included the Hammers captain grappling with an intruder on the pitch – he admitted the fans had reached boiling point.
David Gold, David Sullivan and Karren Brady should be ashamed that security at the athletics track they championed is so pathetic a Premier League game is held up by four pitch invasions.
Ashamed that young children were evacuated to the away team’s dugout for their safety while the River Island tendency fought among themselves. And ashamed that, in the glaring absence of