Johansen hopes Fulham pair still have part to play
STEFAN JOHANSEN has urged Scotland boss Alex McLeish not to forget his Fulham team-mates Tom Cairney and Kevin McDonald.
Cairney and McDonald were both selected to start McLeish’s first game in charge against Costa Rica but struggled as part of a disjointed team showing that ended in a 1-0 defeat.
The national coach rejigged his midfield for the subsequent trip to Hungary and, after bringing in Johansen’s former Celtic colleagues Callum McGregor and Stuart Armstrong, was rewarded with a 1-0 victory that showed a marked improvement in performance. Just as McGregor will not travel to the Americas due to Celtic’s gruelling Champions League qualifying schedule, neither Cairney nor McDonald has been included as Fulham gear up for their club’s play-off final against Aston Villa at Wembley next weekend.
Regardless of the outcome of Fulham’s bid to win promotion, Johansen believes the pair have proved themselves Premier League class this season and hopes to see them given another opportunity by McLeish as the qualifying process for Euro 2020 looms into view.
‘Since I came to Fulham both Tom and Kevin have been brilliant,’ he said. ‘I’m quite surprised they didn’t make it into more Scotland squads sooner but obviously the former manager didn’t fancy them.
‘It’s hard to comment on why they might have struggled in that game against Costa Rica. The Scottish national team might play differently to how we play at Fulham but they are possibly the two best midfielders in the Championship — they are both in the top five for sure.
‘I can’t see why they shouldn’t have a chance to play for Scotland. There are other good midfielders in Scotland, of course. I played with Callum and Stuart, so I know all about them and then of course there is Broony who has now retired from the international scene. ‘So they have had competition.’ At 29, McDonald earned his first cap alongside Manchester United’s Scott McTominay in a deep-lying midfield berth against the Central Americans. Further up the pitch was Cairney, who was playing for only the second time after a debut against Canada in a friendly a year earlier.
Cairney looked ill-suited to playing off the right flank, a peripheral role compared to his duties as Fulham’s chief playmaker in the domestic setting.
West Ham bid £18million for the 27-year-old in January but the Craven Cottage held out and have been rewarded with a series of excellent stringpulling performances that took the West London club to within a game of automatic promotion.
Johansen believes he will shine if given a chance to bed into international football.
‘Tom has struggled a bit with injury this season but he has started to find his top form at a crucial moment for us,’ he added. ‘That’s been good for us and there’s no doubting he is a top-class midfielder.’
‘He has started to get fit and the combination with Kevin playing a bit deeper is very good. They both have the quality to be in the Scotland team for sure and I hope to see that in the near future.’
More immediately, Johansen hopes to take a step up in level with Fulham. Two years on from his transfer from Celtic, the Norwegian captain stands on the brink of Premier League football.
‘We have a good chance now, just one game to go,’ said the 27-year-old, who was influential as Slavisa Jokanovic’s team beat Derby County in the semi-finals.
‘The Premier League is the dream and we wall want to go there with Fulham.’