The great McBurnie debate... will Clarke keep faith in goal-shy £20m striker?
WITHOUT a goal in 14 matches for Scotland, Oli McBurnie finds himself at the centre of a fierce debate over whether he is international class. It is not exactly new territory for the much- criticised Sheffield United striker.
Back in 2015, the-then Chester City frontman — on loan from Bradford City — was at the centre of a storm when he was called up for the Under-19s by coach Ricky Sbragia ahead of Real Madrid’s rising star Jack Harper.
McBurnie would go on to become the most expensive Scottish player of all-time last year when the Bramall Lane outfit paid £20million to sign him after a prolific 22-goal season in the English Championship with Swansea City.
The tag of Scotland’s priciest player barely even lasted a few days until Kieran Tierney’s £25m move from Celtic to Arsenal.
However, the question marks over the 24-year-old’s ability have remained a firm constant amid his lengthy run without hitting the net for his country.
Certainly, McBurnie did not exactly build up credit in the bank with the Tartan Army when he was caught on camera last year being critical of the Scotland set-up.
And it did not help his cause in the eyes of the rank- and- file when he withdrew from the squad to face Israel and the Czech Republic back in August, only to play for his club two days later.
Even i f he did receive the backing of Scotland boss Steve Clarke and Chris Wilder at Sheffield United, who confirmed that he had permission to remain with his club in order to build up his fitness on his way back from injury.
In an interview last month,
Leeds-born McBurnie admitted it ‘hurt’ having his commitment to Scotland questioned.
The striker continues to be a lightning rod for online abuse and it moved towards a crescendo on Sunday after he missed three good first- half chances while deputising for Lyndon Dykes up front against Slovakia.
McBurnie did show nerves of steel to convert a penalty in the tense shoot-out victory over Serbia as the Scots reached Euro 2020 last week. But it was the first time he had hit the net for club or country since notching in a 3-0 win for the Blades over Chelsea back in July.
Clarke again backed hi s man after the 1-0 loss in Trnava, i nsisting he played his part by winning headers to get his team-mates up the pitch and urged him to ‘keep believing’.
McBurnie’s allies may also point out the fact that Leigh
Griffiths took 13 appearances before finding the net for his c ountry with t wo f a mous free-kicks against England.
Former Hearts and Hibs midfielder Michael Stewart believes, however, that McBurnie has offered little since joining up with the national team under Alex McLeish in 2018.
McBurnie had bitten back at the BBC pundit on social media after criticism of his display after coming on in Serbia but Stewart has doubled-down on his critique after the striker’s wasteful performance in Slovakia.
‘The pressure is on him. There’s no question about that,’ said Stewart. ‘The chances he had ( against Slovakia) were not sitters in my book.
‘But he needs to score to get that monkey off his back, to get the pressure away, to get people to start believing that there is a player there. Because at the moment, I don’t think anyone sees it.
‘Of course there’s a confidence issue there but even from the get-go, since Oli’s come into the national team, he has not shown anything to justify being ahead of the likes of Leigh Griffiths or Lawrence Shankland.
‘ We keep saying ( there is a goalscorer in there) but we are not seeing anything and it’s been a long time now. He’s had a lot of games for the national side.
‘He needs to come up with a performance. And if he’s not scoring goals, then he needs to be showing something else.
‘If Lyndon Dykes is not scoring, you know what el se he is bringing. He holds the ball up great, he links the game, he runs and harries defenders. You don’t see that (with McBurnie). He needs to do more.
‘There is competition for places and once Steven Naismith is back to full speed, you would imagine he will get back into the squad and add more competition to the top end of the park.’
There was support for McBurnie from Chris Iwelumo, who himself was no stranger to travails in front of goal for Scotland.
The 42-year- old former striker failed to hit the net i n four appearances for his country — and will always be remembered for missing an open goal in a World Cup qualifier against Norway at Hampden back in 2008.
‘I think he’s quality,’ the former Charlton and Wolves forward told the BBC. ‘He ticks all boxes as a striker — mobility, presence, link-up play.
‘ With the right service, Oli can be unplayable. He gets a bit of stick, but doesn’t shy away from it.
‘Once he gets his first Scotland goal and that weight is off his shoulders, he can kick on.’