'There's no arguing': Scotland ace addresses Steve Clarke reaction and throws support behind 13-goal teammate
Scotland midfielder John McGinn says the side are frustrated with their performances during the recent international break.
Scotland midfielder John McGinn says the team’s lacklustre performance in the 2-1 World Cup qualifying win over Belarus at Hampden Park left him with a ‘strange feeling’, revealing it was the angriest he’d ever seen head coach Steve Clarke.
Goals in each half from Che Adams and Scott McTominay secured all three points for Clarke’s side on Sunday, though the team left the field to a smattering of boos following the shaky performance in Mount Florida, with Gleb Kuchko’s injury-time strike for Belarus leaving the hosts sweating in the final minutes of the clash.
Visibly frustrated in the aftermath of the clash, the Aston Villa captain says he and his teammates are delighted to have secured maximum points from the games against Greece and Belarus, but revealed that the head coach had left the team in no doubt about how exasperated their performance had left him.
Asked if it was the angriest as he’d seen his boss, McGinn admitted: “Aye, definitely. But [it was] justified. He's very calm, but at half-time he gave us a shellacking, but it was deserved, it's part of it. We had a bit of a reaction at the start of the second half, but it was just miles away from what we know we're capable of, and that's the disappointing thing.
“We have to go away, look at it as a group and realise what's gone wrong. A lot has gone wrong, but we need to get the balance right. It's two massive wins, we're not getting carried away with them, there's a lot to improve. We've gone up against two really good teams. Greece were miles better than us the other night, but we managed to dig a win out. Belarus was slightly different, but we're all experienced, all man enough to take the praise when it comes, and to take the criticism when it comes.”
The 30-year-old, who picked up his 81st cap in the win over Belarus, refused to be too downbeat, though, and threw his support behind goal scorer McTominay. The Napoli superstar scored his 13th international goal in the win but came in for some criticism for his overall performance in the aftermath of the victory.
“It happens,” said McGinn. "I had a really poor spell for Scotland when I felt I wasn't contributing what I once did, but he's set high standards. He's had an unbelievable high last season. He's fit as a fiddle; he just needs to find his rhythm again, and we fully believe in him. The biggest compliment is that he may not have been at his best tonight, but got another huge goal, and it was massive in the sense that it keeps us [joint] top of the group.
“Our full thoughts have got to go towards finishing top of the group. We're capable, we're in an unbelievable position. There's no arguing with two wins in our last two [games to come], which everyone will probably laugh at, at the minute. But this group's capable, and when you think we're at our worst moment, we sometimes pop up with a huge performance and result. So two wins get us there. Our full focus is on finishing first in this group and getting to the World Cup.
“You look at the group: 10 points, unbeaten after four games, and probably the best chance we've had in maybe 20 years to qualify for a World Cup. It's an unbelievable opportunity for us, but we need to give absolutely everything and perform far better.”
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