McLeish praises passion of Scott
ALEX McLEISH insists Scott McTominay looked him in the eye and proved his passion for Scotland when the pair met to discuss his international future.
McLeish last night confirmed that the Manchester United midfielder will be in his squad to face Costa Rica and Hungary after breaking into the first-team at Old Trafford this term, making 16 appearances and impressing against the likes of Chelsea, Sevilla and Benfica.
The Lancaster-born 21-year-old was eligible to play for either England or Scotland, but opted for the latter following a charm offensive and crunch talks with McLeish at United’s Carrington HQ.
While widely welcomed, that decision did draw criticism from ex-Scotland international Charlie Nicholas, with the outspoken pundit stating: “He was born in England and sounds like he’s English, so I’m not sure how having a Scottish father is a stronger reason than where you are from.”
However, McLeish has no doubt about McTominay’s desire to pull on a dark blue jersey.
“Scott [McTominay] will be in the squad,” confirmed McLeish. “I don’t think that’s the world’s best kept secret at this moment!
“Scott was very receptive. I looked him in the eye and he gave me a real passion about playing for Scotland. I saw the passion and felt that we had nailed it that day.
“Of course, he still needs to play in a competitive game, but we can get him playing in the friendlies and he can see what it is all about.
“He has had some great games with Jose Mourinho’s Man United.
“He doesn’t have all the answers, but hopefully we’ll get more right than wrong.”