Scotland striker drought draws comparison to former Man Utd star
Sebastien Pocognoli believes the bond Oli McBurnie has created with Scotland fans over the last fortnight is as good as the first goal that continues to elude the striker ahead of his 20th cap against Slovenia.
Clearly the preference is for the Hull City forward to score before the end of the current international break, which has seen him return to the international fold after a long exile.
He has one more chance on Tuesday night against Slovenia, when there will be as many as 40,000 home fans willing him on. If he starts, he needs to score within 13 minutes to avoid breaking the 1000-minute mark without an international goal. He currently sits on 987 minutes, the equivalent of just under 11 full games without scoring.
Oli McBurnie during a Scotland MD-1 training session at Hampden on Monday. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)placeholder image
Oli McBurnie during a Scotland MD-1 training session at Hampden on Monday. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group) | SNS Group
McBurnie is expected to feature in the starting XI despite being replaced at half-time in Saturday’s 2-0 win over North Macedonia in Skopje.
Pocognoli explained that the striker, who had also picked up an early booking, was shattered. McBurnie’s workrate has never been an issue. The Tartan Army showed their appreciation when he was replaced after an hour against Switzerland following a thankless shift up front alone after Jack Hendry’s red card.
Pocognoli rejected the notion there is pressure for McBurnie to open his international account before returning to his club again later this week. He argued that the player will be winning what is effectively only his fourth cap against Slovenia. The Belgian stressed that he is only interested in those games played under him.
“I see it differently because I do not look to the past,” he said. “For me when he started it was like zero caps for me. Against Slovenia (in Ljubljana) he had a great game.
“He should have scored once, he knows that, and against Switzerland it was difficult to judge. But he produced something that the crowd appreciated. They saw that and they are now maybe more in love with each other, it was like a goal for him. In Macedonia he produced a lot of good action to be dangerous and maybe he should have scored one if we gave him the cross but that moment will arrive. I don’t make an issue out of it.”
Scotland manager Sebastien Pocognoli (right) and Oliver McBurnie (left) after the Nations League win over North Macedonia in Skopje.placeholder image
Scotland manager Sebastien Pocognoli (right) and Oliver McBurnie (left) after the Nations League win over North Macedonia in Skopje. | PA
Man Utd icon faced similar wait for first goal
Pocognoli was referring to the moment when Andy Robertson aimed for goal rather than crossing for McBurnie, who was waiting in the middle for a tap in. The ball trundled just wide of the far post.
There have been many moments like this for McBurnie, who did at least score a penalty in the shootout that saw Scotland qualify for Euro 2020 against Serbia.
Pocognoli praised McBurnie for “fighting like a lion” against Switzerland and believes the goal will come sooner rather than later. But he does not want the player to obsess over the continued wait. Brian McClair was another player who had to endure constant debate about when he might get off the mark for Scotland before finally doing so on his 26th appearance for his country against CIS at Euro ’92.
Pocognoli believes McBurnie has already achieved the most important objective: proving he is worth a second chance following well documented issues with previous manager Steve Clarke.
“He was desperate to come back and so that is all that matters,” said the manager. “He was desperate to show that he is proud to be there, that is OK. I just want to make sure that he is not just focused on that (scoring his first goal).”
Pocognoli is satisfied with Scotland’s increasing number of forward candidates. “There are more options,” he said. “But they are not all here.
“We have two young lads (Kieron Bowie and Robbie Ure) and one who has just come back from far (out of the picture),” he said. “So it is like three new faces in terms of strikers. And you have (Lawrence) Shankland who is not here, Che Adams who is not here and James Wilson, who was with us and is now with the Under-21s and did very well for them to be fair. So we will have everybody all together and we will try and make a selection for the next camp.”