Billy Gilmour has been receiving plaudits for his top-class performance against England on Friday but according to Steve Clarke, there was one player who was slightly better than him.
Gilmour played only his third game for Scotland(the previous two being friendlies) and he was one of the standout players on the pitch, making a total of 44 passes with an accuracy of 91%.
According to manager Steve Clarke while the Chelsea midfielder had a real positive impact but right-back Stephen O’Donnell was slightly better against the Three Lions.
“I don’t think there is any risk when you have somebody of Billy Gilmour’s talent,” he said after the game, as quoted.
“When you put him on the pitch you expect him to do what he did. He held the ball for us and allowed us to play through the midfield. I didn’t think it was a risk for the balance of the rest of the team. We were ready to support Billy in his role and I think we did that.
“I thought Stephen O’Donnell was exceptional. And Billy was just behind him. It was nice for Billy to get that start – big platform, big stage, big player. We’ve said for a long time he was part of the future of Scottish football.
“We know what we’ve got in the camp and we will try to manage him properly and keep a lid on things. Performances like that will do him no harm whatsoever.”
Billy Gilmour has been gathering all the praise but by naming Stephen O’Donnell as his man of the match, manager Steve Clarke has subtly hinted that this was more of a team performance from Scotland.
The Chelsea midfielder has been growing in leaps and bounds and if he can have a good enough EURO 2020 then Thomas Tuchel might just have to rethink his summer transfer plans.
Stephen O’Donnell, on the other hand, will be really pleased with his personal performance on Friday and if he can have a good tournament then it might help him secure an upgrade next season.
The one point means Scotland keep their hopes alive of qualifying for the knockout stages and next up, they take on Croatia on Tuesday.
