Mulgrew feels optimistic on Euro chances

West Ham winger keen to put toughest time behind him

IT remains early days but the Scottish national team could, according to Charlie Mulgrew, potentially be on the verge of a new dawn.

The Blackburn Rovers centre-back met up with the Scotland squad earlier this week ahead of the team’s upcoming double-header against Belgium and Albania and while few of the set-up are keen to make any grand predictions ahead of the qualifying campaign for Euro 2020, Mulgrew is optimistic heading into the first match of the UEFA Nations League against Albania on Monday.

“There have been a lot of changes in the squad compared to the last campaign and it is a new era,” he said.

“These are young players that need time and patience, but hopefully the future is bright for Scotland.

“At the end of the day we need to qualify for a major tournament, it’s well overdue.

“We’ve got a good bunch of boys here, as we usually have with the Scotland squad.

“I hopefully can lead by example with the way that I train and play. If I can help anyone along the way on the pitch or off the pitch then hopefully I can do that.

“There are a few experienced boys here and there’s a lot of good players in the squad.”

First up is Friday’s friendly against Belgium at Hampden Park and with Roberto Martinez’s side finishing third at this summer’s World Cup, Mulgrew knows it will be no easy task to stop the likes of Eden Hazard and Romelo Lukaku.

“It’s important we have a good game plan and do what we do best,” he said.

“But we need to have one eye on what they do and try to stop them as a team.”