Dons defender feels that win proved critics wrong

Scott McKenna admits redemption was a key motivating factor as he helped Scotland to Nations League success.

McKenna made his competitive international debut as a half-time substitute as Scotland led 1-0 in Israel on October 11.

Although the warning signs were there following their first-half display, McKenna was disappointed to be on the end of a 2-1 defeat as Israel turned the game in their favour after the break to move into the driving seat in Group C1.

So the Aberdeen centre-back was delighted to play a key role as Scotland secured top spot and a guaranteed Euro 2020 play-off place with victories over Albania and Israel in the past week.

The 22-year-old said: “Obviously the game in Israel away, to be ahead at halftime and lose the game the way we did, we can’t shy away from how poor we were in the second half.

“But to come back and score four goals in Albania and then score three to beat a good Israel side, it just shows what it means to everyone in the dressing room.

“We were obviously delighted, we just wanted to prove anyone wrong who wrote us off after that result in Israel. It was all about just sticking together, and it meant everything to us.

“I came on in Israel when we were in a promising position and to be part of the team that kind of threw it away in the manner we did was disappointing.

“For me, a lot of (our focus for) the last couple of games was trying to put that right, and thankfully we have done that.

“We need to take confidence from it, not only winning the games but scoring goals and playing good football at times.”

Scott McKenna made his Scotland debut last month against Israel.