Scotland side the best in a generation, says Levein
Former Scotland boss Craig Levein has hailed the current crop of stars available to Steve Clarke as the best in a generation.
Clarke masterminded Scotland to an historic 2-0 victory against Spain at Hampden Park last month, with Scott McTominay striking twice to give their EURO 2024 hopes a massive boost.
And Levein, who managed the national team between 2009 and 2012, believes the talent currently available can help propel Scotland to a second-consecutive Euros final appearance.
“I think we have got the best squad of players we have had for a long, long time,” said Levein.
“They are playing in the Premier League at really good levels. The team is fairly young, they are growing together, and Steve has got a real connection with them. That is apparent by the improvement that we have seen in the team.
“I wasn’t confident, but I was very hopeful that we could beat Spain, and that proved to be the case. It wasn’t a fluke; it was a fairly solid display, and it gets us off to a wonderful start in this campaign.”
Manchester United midfielder McTominay was the matchwinner against Spain, with his brace capping a fine vein of form in national team colours that also saw him net twice against Cyprus.
McTominay has forged an impressive midfield triumvirate with John McGinn and Callum McGregor despite finding minutes limited for his club side, and Levein praised the way he has seized the opportunity to playing a full 90 minutes.
“He has been excellent in recent matches,” he added. “Maybe Scott McTominay is feeling a bit of frustration at not being able to play regularly for Manchester United, and he has used that in the right manner by playing as well as we can for his national team.
“I feel that’s because of the improvement in the group, they are all very confident when they get together. The dynamics of the team are excellent at the moment, the togetherness is apparent and the way they fight for each other on the field is obvious as well.”
The most recent international break also saw a debut for Norwich City goalkeeper Angus Gunn, following in the footsteps of dad Bryan, who earned six caps between 1990 and 1994.
The 27-year-old impressed against both Cyprus and Spain, and Levein believes he is on the road to establishing himself as Scotland’s new number one, but insisted there is still work for the stopper to do.
“I don’t know if that last camp was enough for Steve to come out and say Angus is his number one goalkeeper,” admitted Levein.
“The possibility is definitely there, his performances have been excellent, so the prospect of that is real but I don’t know if he is quite there yet.”
The eScottish Football Cup is taking place at Hampden Park over 20th/21st May, with up to 75 clubs from across the country competing for a prize pool of £50,000
