Daz: Sell our game
Darren Fletcher has accused Scottish football off underselling itself and insists a prosperous league is key to a successful national team.
The former Scotland skipper spent his entire club career south of the border with Manchester United, West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City.
But Fletcher (below) is a huge fan of our game and wants those running it to do more to help
it thrive. And the 80- times capped ex- midfielder knows the national team will benefit as they look to end decades of decline and a 23-year absence f rom the major stage by reaching next summer’s European Championships.
Fletcher, 36, said: “I love Scottish football, it’s a breath of fresh air watching it but I don’t think we sell it enough.
“Look at the Bundesliga and how everyone is excited to watch it. There’s an opportunity after the Premier League in England that we should be trying to tap into as much as we can and show what we’re about.
“I’m just a big Scottish football fan, more than anything nowadays, and I want it to thrive.
“I’ve got a care for Scottish footbal l and for me it is probably, most importantly of all, the national team.
“But I know the success of the league leads to the success of the national team, with young players promoting the brand.
“Making everything in the country’s football better - to coaching, pathways into the first team, to getting the best quality players on the pitch. Getting more money into the game, to keep generating money to keep bui lding the best Scottish players.”
Fletcher, from Dalkeith in Midlothian, was a Celtic fan as a kid and spent time at the boys club. But he also had a stint in Rangers’ youth ranks and admitted he came closer to joining the Light Blues before being persuaded to move to Old Trafford by Alex Ferguson.
He enjoyed a glittering 12-year career at United.
Speaking to BBC Sportsound, Fletcher said: “I grew up a Celtic fan but I probably spent more time playing with Rangers and loved being around the Rangers youth set-up.
“More than likely if I had signed for a Scottish club, I would have signed for Rangers, believe it or not.
“If it came to it, I would say I’m a Celtic fan. I’m not hiding behind it, that’s there to be seen. But at the same time, I’m not everything against Rangers.
“Rangers doing well in Europe, I love seeing it. I loved their Europa League run this year.
“I’ve been in England for so long I’m probably more of a Manchester United fan than anything.”