Premiership star ready for Scotland recall as he's prepared to turn World Cup voyage into remarkable comeback

The Motherwell right-back has been capped 26 times but has not featured since a 2-2 draw with Austria almost four years ago. He has enjoyed a consistent run of form with Jens Berthel Askou’s Motherwell that has shown the 33-year-old in a new light, now an attack-minded right-back, or ball-playing centre-back in the highly-impressive Premiership side’s season to date.

There have been injuries and club selection issues this season at right-back for the likes of Nathan Patterson, Aaron Hickey and Anthony Ralston, ahead of the major tournament. Given his familiarity with head coach Clarke’s system from time with the national team and Kilmarnock, it’s perhaps little surprise to see O’Donnell’s resurgence in ML1 met with talk of a trip to America. The defender is already booked for June 14 seismic opener at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough against Haiti but will have his phone at the ready should he be needed for more than a watching brief.

Could Stephen O’Donnell be called up by Scotland?

“I think every Scottish player should have hope,” O’Donnell said ahead of Motherwell’s clash with Celtic in the Premiership on Saturday. “I loved my time with Scotland and I love Steve Clarke. My phone will be turned on! I want the team to do well. I'm booked, I'm going for the first game. It's important that I'm playing, working hard and doing my best to stay in this Motherwell side. This side's been in really good form, we've got good players all over the park. What I've told younger players that I've played with is it's easier for the younger ones to get moves off the back of a successful team.

“If you're down the bottom, you're fighting relegation, you're not getting the attention, the media's not coming and the fans aren't coming. The hype isn't around the place, so for anyone with aspirations to do anything, you need to be performing well in a good side. That's what we are capable of doing. The team has massively helped me this season. I've maybe looked better, but equally, I'd maybe argue I've not looked so bad at other times. I'm enjoying my football. I'm fit, and if they needed me, I'm sure I'd be able to come. It's not an issue but I just hope we have a successful summer as a collective.”

It would prove to be a remarkable comeback given the pre-season nerves O’Donnell felt heading into the new term under Askou. He had enjoyed the high-octane style at Motherwell under Michael Wimmer before the German’s return home last summer paved the way for Askou’s arrival. After drawing with Clyde and grinding their way to victory at home against Peterhead in the Premier Sports Cup group stages, apprehension had set in pre-Rangers in the first game of the season at Fir Park, that ended a 1-1 draw.

“I was nervous going into the Rangers game,” O’Donnell admitted. “I was on the bench and I was a bit apprehensive, maybe that's the right word, because we'd played the lower league opposition in the Premier Sports Cup. We'd huffed and puffed a wee bit, but I'm thinking this Rangers side had spent some money and had a new manager, they have their style which is going to be a real test for us. I thought we should have won. I came on at centre back and it's like, it's actually in a way easier, against the bigger sides.

Stephen O’Donnell on time at Motherwell

“They want to pressure you, whereas sometimes when teams are leaving you on it, it's a different challenge. When you get teams down low and deep, it's hard to break them down. I'm not really that optimistic ever and I was actually pretty flat because I was enjoying my football under Michael Wimmer. I was a little bit flat perhaps on the off season, because I thought, ‘does this gaffer like me?’ So that kind of becomes the rhetoric. I came back in, worked hard, got in the team and found myself playing most weeks.”

In his sixth season at Motherwell, O’Donnell became only the ninth player in claret and amber to reach the 200-game milestone during the modern era. His relationship with supporters at Fir Park has sometimes been rocky amid difficult terms during the 2020s, but his connection with them has never been stronger than it has been this term. He’s glad to be fleshing out some feel-good memories after getting into a way of thinking that was far from positive.

”To get to 200, I think the boys here will vouch for me that I wasn't in the same headspace maybe a couple of games into the season,” O’Donnell added. “Cramping up against Clyde, I thought the fans are done with me, and I was pretty much getting done with them to be honest. It's just football but the manager, the style, I did believe when he came in and spoke about it that it could suit. Maybe it took me a wee bit of time to believe I could play right-back or centre-back still because Wimmer had more or less retired me to the middle of a three! I'm enjoying my football. I'm delighted with the season we're having which is the most important thing and hopefully there's a good end to it. The fans as we’ve come along the way have been amazing, ups and downs as ever, but great to get some good stories personally amongst it.”

The Scottish Football Social Club is presented by BetSBK.com | 18+ | Gamble Responsibly