Eighteen years have passed since that Roy Keane interview on MUTV without one glaring inaccuracy being addressed. “I can’t understand why people in Scotland rave about Darren Fletcher,” Keane said. People in Scotland actually did nothing of the sort. Fletcher earned 80 caps for his country at a time when qualifying for a major tournament felt an unattainable dream. As a Manchester United player, Scotland supporters always demanded far more from Fletcher than he was able to give. A midfield player who broke up play wasn’t deemed flashy enough. Fletcher spent much of his Scotland spell being hugely under-appreciated.
The same cannot be said of Scott McTominay. People in Scotland rave about him alright. This partly resonates in circumstance. As the Tartan Army sing, McTominay “turned the English down” when committing his international future to Scotland. Alex McLeish’s second tenure was a troubled one but his convincing of McTominay to don navy blue left a legacy that should be appreciated. Steve Clarke has felt the benefit.
