WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
McDonald may prove to be solid option for Eck’s Scots
Fulham star eager for long-awaited cap debut Scotland Special
JUST a few months short of his 30th birthday, Kevin McDonald is finally in line to make his Scotland debut. Midfield anchor for an in-form Fulham side that is beating a trail towards Premier League promotion, McDonald is the dark horse to fill the void created by the retirement of Scott Brown. Manchester United’s Scott McTominay carries the endorsement of Jose Mourinho and has commanded headlines since declaring for the land of his father’s birth but national coach Alex McLeish is wary of placing the 21-year-old under too much pressure after just a handful of appearances for his club side. A time-served operator at the top end of the Championship with Wolves and Fulham, and for a season a Premier League player at Burnley, McDonald represents an experienced option and one whose presence could help ease McTominay into the fray. It also helps that he plies his club trade just a stone’s throw from McLeish’s west London home. McLeish is toying with the idea of pairing McDonald with clubmate Tom Cairney in the middle of the park for Friday’s friendly against Costa Rica but the former Dundee man is taking nothing for granted. McDonald has been named in Scotland squads before and not had a look-in. And he learned a salutary lesson at just 17 years of age when he made his first and only Hampden appearance.
‘I remember being dropped for Dundee against Gretna in the Scottish Cup semi-final,’ he states. ‘Most people thought I would start, but when it came to it the manager, Alan Kernaghan, thought it would be too big for me.
‘I’d played the week before and expected to be in the team. I was only young — 17 at the time — and I can’t remember doing much after I came on as a sub.’
Regardless of that setback, McDonald had been earmarked for a big and bright future. Clever in possession and blessed with a physique that made him both mobile and robust, a move to England was inevitable and took him to Burnley for a fee of around £500,000 before he had turned 20.
His first season in English football saw him help Owen Coyle clinch promotion to the top flight, where he played 26 matches. Oddly, and despite Scotland’s struggles, there was no cap to accompany his elevation.
‘It feels like a long wait,’ he admits. ‘You have to keep faith but after a few years of missing squads you start to doubt it. I hope to get my first cap, show what I can do and stay in the team. I’m grateful to be in the squad and I can’t wait to show what I can do.
‘Back in my Dundee days I scored goals — but that’s gone now! I like to get on the ball and play nice football and I’m lucky that that’s how Fulham see things. I’m at a good club for that.
‘I don’t mind doing the dirty work for others. I know I’m a defensive midfielder, but I do like to start attacks and that’s where my game is at.’
Convenience has led McLeish to attend many games at Craven Cottage over the past few seasons and, long before he moved into contention to manage his country for a second time, the coach had been captivated by the work done by McDonald.
‘Kevin has been round the houses down south but has found his niche at Fulham,’ says the former Rangers boss. ‘He has been playing a very specific position and I’ve never seen him have a bad game.
‘You can only go on your eye and your judgment of how you perceive a player and I’ve been saying to people privately: “Can no one else see this?”
‘He caught my eye, as did Tom Cairney — I thought these two guys could play for Scotland. Cairney has been a good provider, Kevin has been an anchor.
‘We’ve used Scott Brown as an anchor over the past few years and he has grown into a terrific footballer with his knowledge and positional sense.
‘You get that as you get older and, although I’m not saying McDonald will step right into Scott’s boots, I was very keen if I became Scotland coach to have a really good look at this guy in the national team.’
On Wednesday, McLeish headed to Fulham’s Motspur Park training ground for a summit with his coaches, James McFadden and Peter Grant, who is employed as development coach with Fulham.
While there he had lunch with manager Slavisa Jokanovic, who has built his team around his Scottish