Charlie Nicholas insists Billy Gilmour is no Scotland saviour and reckons the Chelsea youngster could be "the next Barry Bannan".
The pundit singled the 20-year-old out for stinging criticism following last week's World Cup play-off semi-final defeat to Ukraine.
Nicholas insists Gilmour offered nothing but "square passes" and says he has to do more.
Steve Clarke 's side were poor all-round in a 3-1 defeat at Hampden, one that extends the wait for a World Cup appearance beyond 24 years.
Gilmour has been widely lauded as one of the nation's top future prospects but Nicholas suspects he could go the way of another diminutive midfielder in Bannan.
Nicholas wrote in the Scottish Daily Express: "Billy Gilmour is a talented player but if he is not careful he could end up becoming the next Barry Bannan.
"Gilmour is a tidy footballer but he has to offer more and we need to stop making him out to be our saviour. He struggled in the play-off because he didn't get on the ball enough - and when he did it was square pass, square pass.
"Let's hope he can make a greater impact than Bannan - another physically small midfelder who did OK for a few seasons but failed to hit the heights everyone hoped."
Nicholas also reckons Clarke got his selection all wrong, handing the initiative to Ukraine before a ball had been kicked.
He added: "Clarke made mistakes in terms of selection and the set-up and he needs to shoulder that responsibility.
"The players also have to take their share of the blame because they didn't perform on the night. There's no way
"Clarke would have instructed them to keep playing back to front and missing out the midfield.
"Between them they got it all wrong and we were well beaten.
"Aaron Hickey might have a decent right foot but he rarely plays at right wing-back and putting him in there was the wrong call.
"That wasn't the first time Clarke has started a player on his weaker side.
"He did the same with Kieran Tierney early in his Scotland reign and that didn't work either.
"Why couldn't he have played Stuart Armstrong or Ryan Christie at right wing-back?
"With his starting line-up, Clarke handed the initiative to Ukraine before a ball was even kicked."
