Sfa–wedid all we could to protect Billy
SFA chief Ian Maxwell claims Scotland did all they could to prevent Billy Gilmour being ruled out of Tuesday’s clash with Croatia after contracting Covid-19.
Scottish Football Association chief executive Ian Maxwell claims Scotland did all they could to prevent Billy Gilmour being ruled out of Tuesday’s must-win clash with Croatia after contracting Covid-19.
The Chelsea midfielder was missing as Scotland were eliminated from Euro 2020 after the 3-1 defeat left Steve Clarke’s side bottom of Group D.
Gilmour tested positive for Covid-19 on the eve of the match after impressing on his full debut in Friday night’s
0-0 draw with England. Clarke admitted the news affected preparations as the 20-year-old was set to start.
Maxwell has backed the SFA protocols that were in place. Midfielder John Fleck also tested positive for Covid-19 before the tournament began. He was ruled out of Scotland’s friendlies against the Netherlands and Luxembourg and did not feature at all at Euro 2020.
“You take a step back and when Billy has his positive result everyone looks at it and thinks, ‘how can that happen?’” said Maxwell. “But when you look at his movements just as part of his involvement with the team he is in a hotel in Middlesbrough on Thursday.
“He is then on a bus, a plane, another bus, another hotel and into a stadium and onto another bus, another plane and so on. So when people say, ‘how can that happen’ that’s the difficulty of coronavirus.
"It really doesn’t need very much at all and you can contract it purely from touching the wrong thing at the wrong time. It’s so difficult to manage.
“We are well versed in the protocols, we know exactly what the risks are and we have kept the players as secure as we can with a virus which is so difficult to manage.
“Covid is still in our midst, you only have to look at the increased numbers reported yesterday. In these situations you first have to think of the players and wish them a safe and speedy return because in sport we lose sight of the impact the virus has on people.
“We follow strict UEFA protocols throughout the tournament and we are thankful that we have Dr John Maclean – who has led Scottish football’s Covid protocol implementation from a medical perspective – as the national team doctor.”
Gilmour’s diagnosis – he is asymptomatic but must self-isolate for ten days – also had ramifications for England. Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell, teammates of Gilmour's at Chelsea, were deemed to be close contacts of the midfielder and are selfisolating as per advice from Public Health England.
Although they played their last game at Hampden, there was still the familiar feeling yesterday of Scotland having to pack their bags and head home early from a major tournament.
The squad travelled back to their Rockliffe Hall base in County Durham after Tuesday’s defeat to Croatia and then dispersed from there.
The self-isolating billygilm our might have been watching from his window as the bus crunched up the long drive to the hotel at the exclusive golf club for the last time.
It’s a poignant image that encapsulates two contrasting emotions as we reflect on such a long-awaited major finals experience.
Frustration abounds at failure to make the most of the opportunity but there’s also cheer at the prospect of more chances to come.
A player can have only limited influence on the outcome of a game if he’ s sitting in a hotel room 175 miles away. this was one source of frustration.
But the very fact Gilmour proved such a big miss against Croatia underlines the talent scotland have at their disposal for hopefully years to come.
It’s not only Gilmour. Andy Robertson, Tierney and Scott McTominay deserve to be back on this stage. It would be staggeringly wasteful if Scotland were now to endure another long spell in the wilderness. If the last few, mostly enjoyable weeks are to mean anything at all, they must be treated as a launchpad.
The truth is, having played two of their three group matches on home turf, Scotland might never again be blessed with such generous conditions in which to make the great leap forward to the knockout stage.
Expectation exceeded the levels they proved capable of hitting.
The major disappointment and chief source of frustration remains the opening fixture against Czech Republic, when Steve Clarke’s side failed to gain the lift-off everyone suspected–correctly, it turned out-they needed. Losing the first goal in both ham pd en outings made things extremely difficult.
Although Callum Mcgregor’s equaliser against croatia left scotland another goal from qualification, it was a bolt from the blue. There was always a sense Scotland were hanging on. At least Scotland scored, which was the very least demanded from the final game.
Admittedly, the crowd restrictions meant the players were not given maximum backing from a full volume Hampden roar, but as many people remarked, the 12,000 made sure it did not seem as though the ground was quarter-full. They did their level best to cheer scotland on and help them get over the line. that was not the problem.
The problems were on the pitch and can be attributed, to some extent, to legacy issues. Graeme Souness suggested Scotland’ s style of play was from the dark ages although it was far from that at Wembley.
But the former Rangers manager does have a point in terms of the contrasting technical ability of the players on display at Hampden on Tuesday. Let’s face it, Stephen O’donnell would not have been anywhere near the Croatia team. Borna Barisic, a mainstay at Rangers, could not even get in their starting XI.
There’s a new breed of player arriving, possibly on account of the Performance School system established in 2012, which augurs well for the future. Graduates Gilmour and NathanPatterson got a taste for major finals action. it will be a crying shame if they are denied the opportunity to sample more.
In his brief press conference following Tuesday’s 3-1 defeat to Croatia, Clarke said it was a learning experience –“and that goes for the head coach too ”.
It’s incumbent to acknowledge the almost unbelievable misfortune that saw Scotland robbed of the services of Gilmour in the last, pivotal game – although of course it must be noted that a fit and raring to go Gilmour sat unused on the bench throughout the opening game.
Nevertheless, his emergence, realised so dynamically at Wembley, was a tournament high point and, perhaps, counts as one of the lessons clarke may have learned: bold is often better.
Just because there is a clamour to play someone does not necessarily mean it is supporters-led rattle. The same applies to Patterson, whose welcome cameo earlier this week – he’s now the youngest player to represent Scotland at a major finals, and the first teenager – suggested he was worth one start at least.
There’s the rub. Clarke will be conscious of looking to the future but there’s the little matter of a World Cup qualification campaign that has already started. Scotland's next game is at the home of the Danes, so impressive against Russia on Monday night, on 1 September.
They then face moldova at home and Austria away. Hopes of reaching qatar hinge on this tricky triple-header. It’s likely scotland will need a win in either
Copenhagen or Vienna, as well as three points against the Moldovans.
Often a major finals can feel like a last hurrah.
Clarke will name his next squad in around eight weeks' time. With just one outfield player in their thirties, the manager won’t be afflicted by a raft of retirals following this summer' s adventures. This is a squad in progress.
One issue he might have to deal with in time is goalkeeper, although David Marshall – one wonder strike aside – probably strengthened his position at No 1 during the tournament.
Providing he decides to continue, and starts the season as Derby County first choice, it seems likely that the 36-year-old will be lining up for Scotland in Denmark. In truth, the team, perhaps augmented by Patterson and Gilmour, might not look a lot different to the one sent out against the Croatians.
It would render pointless the strides of the last few months, dating back to Belgrade and beyond, if Clarke did not retain faith in players who have benefited, as he has done, from such a rich learning experience.