«Breaking News» Alex McLeish praises match-winner Steven Naismith after selecting him ahead of Leigh Griffiths

Alex McLeish insists Steven Naismith proved he was right to hand the striker a Scotland start ahead of Leigh Griffiths.

The Hearts star had a huge hand in the opening goal and headed the second as the Scots opened their Nations League campaign with a victory over Albania.

McLeish raised eyebrows when he selected on-form Naismith and Johnny Russell ahead of Celtic striker Griffiths. He was vindicated, however, when the Tynecastle star's header was turned into his own net by Albania defender Berat Djimsiti in the 46th minute before sealing all three points with a goal of his own after 68 minutes.

Steven Naismith's man-of-the-match performance vindicated his selection, feels his manager

Boss Alex McLeish gave Naismith the nod and he had a hand in both goals in the 2-0 home win

'What did Naisy bring? Two goals,' said McLeish afterwards. 'I wanted to do a pairing. I had a feeling about Johnny and Stevie was showing up well in training.

'We got Leigh on and he's still very important to us, as are all the guys who didn't play.

'I love them all - they are playing at good levels and we change the system at times.' Naismith missed the end-of-season tour to Peru and Mexico with a heel injury and was a late squad replacement for Oli McBurnie.

He was pitched into the starting line-up last night, with McLeish adding: 'If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. It happened to me. I got dropped and recalled and you don't look back.

McLeish went bold with his line-up which saw them get their first Nations League victory

Naismith is an experienced member of McLeish's set-up and linked well with Jonny Russell

'Naisy was suffering with a heel injury in the summer and asked if he could stay home and start the season well.

'I said if you start well then I'll consider you.

'I didn't pick him at first but when he arrived I said it was meant to be.' McLeish sprung another selection surprise when he opted for Kilmarnock's Stephen O'Donnell ahead of Celtic winger James Forrest.

Aware those calls could have backfired after criticism of Friday's 4-0 friendly defeat to Belgium, the Scotland boss insisted: 'Rome wasn't built in a day. People talked about my win ratio - I'm not bothered about that.

'I had to take the South America trip and it turned out positive despite losing two games.

'It's three games (after the Belgium defeat) and I was under pressure, I know that and feel that as I know how football works.

'But I'm building a wall, not papering over cracks.

Eyebrows were raised before kick-off with Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths resigned to the bench

But Naismith took his opportunity brilliantly with a dominant performance leading the line

'I work with the players every day, I see them and you guys don't so I'm well qualified to select who I choose to.

'It was a very good performance. We played at a great tempo and were versatile in the wide areas, with centre-halves joining in and we did it with good defensive discipline.

'We paid Albania the ultimate respect by playing at a high level and that's the biggest respect you can pay your opponents.

'We have had games where we have learned a lot versus world-class teams and this was always the night we had to do it.' Albania coach Christian Panucci said: 'Scotland definitely had more chances than we did during the game but the manner in which we lost goals is hard to describe.

'But I don't want to take anything away from the great performance from Scotland.'

Link article

https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/11/alex-mcleish-praises-match-winner-steven-naismith-after-selecting-him-ahead-of-leigh-griffiths/
Main photo article Alex McLeish insists Steven Naismith proved he was right to hand the striker a Scotland start ahead of Leigh Griffiths.
The Hearts star had a huge hand in the opening goal and headed the second as the Scots opened their Nations League campaign with a victory over Albania.
McLeish raised eyebrows...

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Dianne Reeves Sport HienaLouca





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