FIGHTER LEADER WINNER
(It’s in Darren’s blood)
THERE is very little to remember about Scotland’s goalless friendly with Norway in Oslo in August 2003.
But that grim 0-0 draw in the Ullevaal Stadium was good for one thing – the start of Darren Fletcher’s international career.
Berti Vogts introduced the then Manchester United teenager on the hour mark for my former Rangers team-mate Maurice Ross.
I started that forgettable game and even as a young boy you knew Fletcher was a player who would go to the very top. Fourteen years later his CV shows that.
That game was the first of 79 caps for his country and nobody was happier than me to see him lead Scotland to victory against Slovakia on Thursday night.
Bloodied and bandaged after his ear was left practically hanging off, it was yet another sign of his commitment to the cause as he stepped up to the plate after Scott Brown’s injury.
It was great to see him with the armband on and it would be fitting to see him lead Scotland into the Russia 2018 play-offs when he makes his 80th appearance in tomorrow’s must-win final qualifier in Slovenia.
I know Fletcher has his critics and while I respect everyone’s opinion, anyone who has played with him will tell you what he’s all about – top guy, top player and top professional.
I would argue until I’m blue in the face against anyone who suggests he isn’t a good player.
He’s very underrated and you don’t play with Manchester United for the length of time he did and play in huge games, including Champions League, if you’re not a top player.
Fletcher’s been through a helluva lot in his career in terms of his ulcerative colitis illness and you don’t come back from that to play in the Premier League unless you’re special.
When Brown returned from international retirement during this campaign it would have been easy for Darren to say his time was up.
It’s easy to turn up and get p ***** off when you’re not playing. But you never hear any moans or groans from him and if the camera turns to the bench when Scotland score you will see he’s one of the first on his feet celebrating.
He has continued to turn up for squads and then when the call came in Scotland’s hour of need against Slovakia he stepped up to the plate.
I’ve met him outwith the Scotland camp a few times and he’s the same guy as he was when he made his debut against Norway. That tells you everything you need to know about him.
When you become a Manchester United player it would be easy to change but he’s not like that.
Fletcher is just one player who some might not have wanted in the starting line-up against Slovakia but Gordon
Strachan again refused to be persuaded by public opinion – the sign of a good manager.
I like Callum McGregor and John McGinn and I would have played them. But Strachan is his own man, had a gameplan in mind and played guys he trusts.
You have to give him credit because he made a couple of substitutions that might have been questioned but they worked with Ikechi Anya delivering the cross and Chris Martin’s pressure resulting in the own goal.
Say what you like but Strachan has got results. It wasn’t a great start to the campaign – 1-1 at home to Lithuania and losing 3-0 in Slovakia – so fair play to the manager and players for turning it round. They’ve got us back on track and that is very hard to do. I didn’t write us off but I was worried.
You have to take your hat off to Strachan and his team, they have got us from a position in the group where it looked like we had no chance to within three points of a play-off place.
I went along as a supporter on Thursday for the first time since my international career ended. I’m a Scotland fan and wanted to support the nation and sample the atmosphere.
It was nervy at times, so much so I watched the winning goal inside because my nerves couldn’t handle it.
People round about me were also starting to get on top of some players. I didn’t like that because it was a game that needed a bit of patience after Slovakia went down to 10 men.
I know what that’s like having been in the situation myself a few times. But the boys showed good temperament and attitude.
It did get to the stage where I wondered if it would happen for us but we deserved that wee bit of luck with the late own goal.
It wasn’t a great performance but we got what was needed and totally deserved to win because we had enough chances. Their keeper pulled off two or three great saves and we hit the woodwork a couple of times.
I couldn’t care less how we played and now we look ahead to Slovenia tomorrow and I think we will do it in Ljubljana.
I said before the Slovakia game that knowing what they had to do to get a play-off place was a good thing for the players and manager.
They knew they had to win two games. If it had been midway through the campaign then you can maybe afford to drop points but the players knew they faced two must-win games so it’s clear.