REACH FOR THE STARS
Dark Blue legends spur Hanley to end 20-year exile from major finals
IN the understandable haste to start the next journey on the front foot, it would be easy to pay scant regard to the hard miles travelled to this point. Absent from a major tournament for two decades now, the Scotland players selected by Alex McLeish for the opening assignments against Costa Rica and Hungary need no reminding they are representatives of a nation desperate to make up for lost time.
In the clamber to consign a woeful attendance record to history, though, it’s important some notable stolen moments are not lost. Because their very existence remains a cause for optimism.
Huddled together in a room of their West Lothian hotel on Sunday after mixing and mingling, McLeish’s impassioned inaugural address to his players preceded a video presentation of acts of derring-do by myriad Dark Blues heroes down the years.
Such tools never make defenders jump any higher or allow strikers to run any faster, of course.
But the fervent hope is that they somehow burn into the collective psyche and blow away any lingering clouds of doubt that qualification for a major finals is simply not meant to be any more.
‘I think that kind of motivational stuff works,’ said defender Grant Hanley (pictured). ‘If you watch those moments, it does inspire you. For me personally, that type of thing is always good.
‘Faddy’s goal in Paris was included, for example, and stuff like that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
‘It’s great for the boys to look at stuff like that. Everyone has to take it their own way but I think the boys will take inspiration from it. It was good for the manager to speak to all the boys together for the first time.
‘He just wanted to get us all together and make sure we know we can achieve something with Scotland. He told us we all have the ability and talent to do it.
‘Within that, he explained what he expects from us. He spoke to us and also showed us the video footage. It showed some of the good moments Scotland have had down the years but also more recent stuff, as well.’
Perhaps more than anyone, McLeish appreciates the need for his squad to break free from the psychological chains of the past. Taking charge of the national team at the outset of 2007, his side were capable of defeating Ukraine and France, the latter courtesy of the aforementioned James McFadden howitzer in Paris.
Seemingly drawn to disaster like iron filings to a magnet, though, a defeat in Georgia late in that campaign ultimately proved fatal and all too familiar.
Scotland’s ability to rise to the big occasion is the most welcome of traits. An aversion to doing what’s expected — and occasionally that little bit more — remains our biggest downfall.
‘Winning more games would be a good start,’ Hanley honestly replied when asked what needed to change. ‘We need to get that winning mentality, that’s important.
‘You always know what you are going to get from Scotland, the boys are always going to try their hardest and show a lot of fight.
‘It’s another chance for us, it’s a new campaign. It’s a great chance for us to try and get it right this time. There’s no magic spell, it’s not about just changing one thing which will suddenly make us start winning games.
‘It’s up to the players. The new manager will tell us what he expects from us and it’s up to the players to do that on the park.
‘But I do think we need to get that winning mentality together and really focus and push on to win more games.’
In that respect, the presence of McFadden as first-team coach might just be the wave of fresh positivity that’s required.
The 34-year-old may have called time upon his Scotland career without realising his dream of playing in a major finals but no one would doubt his iron mentality and deep-seated belief.
‘He can definitely bring something new and it’s great to add what he brings to being around the squad,’ Hanley explained.
‘Hopefully he can put his views across and help us get to where we want to be.
‘I think it can be inspirational having a guy like him around. Certainly, for me, when I was growing up he was the kind of guy I watched playing for Scotland. It’s good to have him around the place.’ Given the experimental nature of the squad, the tussles with Costa Rica and Hungary won’t answer every question at the outset of the new era. Yet they will assuredly provide strong hints as to the shape of things to come.
Hanley and Russell Martin were the trusted defensive partnership at the outset of the quest to qualify for the World Cup. But by the time the adventure ended in tears in Slovenia, the jerseys belonged to Christophe Berra and Charlie Mulgrew. Injury prevents Martin from staking a claim at the outset of the McLeish era but there are new kids on the block in the likes of Jack Hendry and Scott McKenna.
‘It’s good for everyone,’ Hanley stated. ‘The boys who are getting called up aren’t here for no reason. They are obviously quality players and the competition for places is a good thing.
‘The better the players you are competing with for a place in the team, ultimately you are only going to drive each other on to be better. That’s a very important part of any squad.’
Asked if Sunday’s DVD presentation contained heroic defensive acts as well as goals, Hanley confirms his speciality didn’t quite make the cut.
Suffice to say, though, that the stature of the man pressing the buttons on the remote control was inspiring enough.
‘What he did for club and country in his playing career, you don’t even need to talk about it. His record speaks for itself,’ the Norwich man said of McLeish.
‘Centre-half was his position and he obviously knows what he’s talking about with regards to playing there, so it will be good for me to pick up any wee pointers I can from him.’