Like many other Scotland supporters during the summer, Frank McAvennie choked his sangria down from a sun-lounger as he looked on from the outside at the rest of the home nations having the party of a lifetime in France without us.
What really stuck in his craw though was the gnawing feeling that it could all have been so different had national team manager Gordon Strachan loosened the shackles from his side, with his pragmatic approach the main reason behind Scotland’s failure to make it to the European Championships in McAvennie’s view.
According to the former Celtic striker, who remarkably was capped just five times for his country despite a prolific scoring record both north and south of the border, Strachan’s defensive outlook has led to the deflation and general indifference that has so far permeated the build-up to Sunday’s World Cup qualifying campaign opener against Malta at the Ta' Qali National Stadium.
Read more: Scotland assistant McGhee confident underachiever Watt is ready to fulfil his potential
“If they don’t win on Sunday then that’s it done,” McAvennie went as far to say. And with the make-up of Strachan’s squad and how he feels the Scotland team will again be set up, he fears that a repeat of the horror show in Tblisi that ultimately torpedoed Scotland’s last qualifying campaign could be on the cards.
“I hope this isn’t another Georgia, and I hope I’m totally wrong, but it’s hot over there and if these boys are going to go over there and play lethargically then I can see Malta getting something, maybe a draw,” he said.
“Being too defensive cost us the last time, we didn’t make the last tournament because we didn’t score enough goals – simple as that.
“I was sitting watching that on holiday and I was absolutely gutted that Scotland weren’t there. What a party that would have been, and the fans deserve to go to a tournament because they spend a lot of money following Scotland.
“Gordon likes to play with two holding midfield players and that’s just wrong to me.
“I’m a fully paid-up member of the striker’s society and I want to see two strikers on the pitch. Especially in a game like this, why not just have a go at them?
“It never worked in the last campaign, so let’s just go out and have a go and give them something that they won’t expect.
“Let them off the leash. If we don’t make it, then at least you can then say that we gave it a go. The regret from the last one was that we never.
“In this campaign, let’s give it a go, and if we make it great but if not, at least we can put our hands up and say we gave it everything.”
McAvennie was delighted by the call-up of current Hearts and former Celtic striker Tony Watt during the week, but he is less enamoured with the continued disregard being shown for the attacking talents of Ross McCormack.
Scotland assistant manager Mark McGhee tried to explain that away by referring to the player not fitting the system being employed for this game, but McAvennie believes that the system should be picked to fit the best players, not the other way around.
“I’m not disputing that Gordon is a good manager, but if you’ve not got the players to play his system I just think you’ve got to change it,” he said.
“He’s wanting to play a set way but when you’ve got Steven Fletcher then you’ve not got any pace up front.
“In international football you need pace, and I don’t know if there’s that much pace in the team now.
“I like Tony Watt. I was a big fan of him when he was at Celtic and I thought maybe the powers that be should have put their arm around him at the time because he’s a different beast. I’m delighted that he’s got the call-up.
“I just don’t understand though why Ross McCormack isn’t even in the squad. He's scoring goals, and I just think that’s what football is all about.
“You look at McCormack, and I don’t think there are many other players that are worth more than £12million in the current Scotland team.
“He’s scoring a lot more goals than Chris Martin and he’s a lot more mobile than him, no disrespect.
“I would even have McCormack in ahead of Fletcher, he will score more goals. I’d like to see a lot more freedom in the Scotland team.”
*Frank McAvennie was speaking at the launch of a fantastic new charity partnership between Mr Singh’s Indian & Tapas and Mary’s Meals UK. Mary’s Meals feeds more than one million children every year around the world and Mr Singh’s will feed a child with every curry bought. For more info log onto marysmeals.org.uk.
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