Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Eck burnout fear for Tier
SCOTLAND captain Andy Robertson says all 10 outfield players should fear the axe after their flop against Israel.
Alex McLeish’s (below) side blew a 1-0 lead in Haifa on Thursday and take on Portugal tonight looking to make amends.
It is now five defeats in seven for Scotland and Robertson knows, as captain, he has one of the biggest roles to play in making sure the team improves.
The Liverpool star (above) said: “The gaffer picked the same starting XI as against Albania, but will that stay the same for the next qualifier?
“If I was him, I would be doubting every position because none of us showed up, apart from Greegs, who kept the score down.
“He was outstanding, but, other than that, I don’t think anyone played to their capabilities, so we’re all under pressure and the lads on the bench know that there are places up for grabs.
“Since I’ve been here we’ve had a couple of bad KIERAN TIERNEY has been sent back to Celtic from Scotland duty because Alex McLeish fears career burnout for the 21-year-old.
The full-back’s heartbreaking own-goal shift against Israel in midweek was his 22nd game of the season, and his 82nd in the past 15 months – more than any other player in Scotland.
And McLeish revealed he had sent the Hoops iron man (above) home due to burnout issues.
John Souttar, Charlie Mulgrew and Robert Snodgrass have also left the squad due to injury, with Ryan Christie and Gary Mackay-Steven recalled, and Aberdeen stopper Mikey Devlin called up for the first time.
McLeish said: “I remember in my Aberdeen days some boys played a lot of games at an extremely young age, and finished their careers relatively early. We don’t want that to happen to these players.
“That’s why Tierney is away back again.”