Stu hopes to see Scots build on victory

STUART MCCALL hopes Scotland have given themselves a platform upon which to build with victory over Albania.

Alex McLeish’s side got their Nations League campaign off to a comfortable start as Steven Naismith netted both goals in a 2-0 win.

And former national coach McCall, now the manager of League One Scunthorpe, was pleased with an important three points for Scotland.

He told SportTimes: “We have got a Belgian player, Funso Ojo, at Scunthorpe and he was quite chirpy, as you can imagine, after them turning us over at Hampden in the friendly.

“But I went in with a skip and said, ‘We have just battered the mighty Albania’. He just looked at me! But I enjoyed it and it was nice to watch them in full flow, creating lots of opportunities.

“The stat kept coming up that Alex had lost four in five but we have played some good sides in that period.

“It was good against Albania and hopefully now they can take that performance forward during the next break.”

The win over Albania was followed by the news that major international matches and cup clashes will remain at Hampden after a lengthy consideration by the Scottish FA.

Now plans will be drawn up to overhaul the stadium and improve it once the deal with Queen’s Park has been completed.

McCall said: “I am maybe an old traditionalist but I was fortunate to make my debut against Argentina, the World Cup winners at the time, so I would always want the national team to stay at Hampden.

“Hopefully it can be refurbed and I was pleased when that decision was made.”