Ally McCoist tips forgotten Scotland star for shock comeback three years after last game

ALLY McCOIST reckons Steve Clarke could end the exile of a forgotten Scotland star – more than three years after he last pulled on the dark blue.

The national team squad is undergoing a changing of the guard with the likes of Callum McGregor retiring and new faces like Ben Doak being phased in.

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But McCoist reckons Clarke may go back to the future with a star who hasn’t been in his plans since March 2021.

Oli McBurnie has played against Real Madrid this season – and impressed with an assist in La Liga against Los Blancos – and is starring up front for Las Palmas alongside Rangers flop Fabio Silva.

He hasn’t featured for the national side since a win over the Faroe Islands in March 2021 but he did play as Steve Clarke’s heroes booked a place at Euro 2020 months before in a dramatic shoot-out win over Serbia.

Since then he’s fallen into the international wilderness but he is now in the right place to catch the manager’s eye according to Rangers legend McCoist – playing alongside regular squadman Scott McKenna in Gran Canaria.

“Oli McBurnie heading out to Spain to play for Las Palmas is brilliant for him,” McCoist told talkSPORT BET.

“He’s a whole-hearted player and good on him for going abroad and taking on a new challenge. “He even got an assist in their 1-1 draw with Real Madrid earlier in the season!

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“The fans will love McBurnie because he is totally committed, he will give everything he’s got and leave it all out on the pitch. It’s great for Scotland fans like myself, because I’ve now got an interest in Las Palmas and I look for every result.

“McBurnie was left out of the Scotland squad for Euro 2024, but scoring goals was a problem area for them in that tournament. Lyndon Dykes was a big miss and outside of that we only had Che Adams and Lawrence Shankland.

“McBurnie must be thinking that if he can get a few goals and keep getting assists in La Liga, then he’ll be back in the squad.”

Several Scots stars have moved abroad in recent years, giving Clarke a widespread scouting mission stretching from Austria to the Canary Islands via Italy‘s Serie A as well as the British Isles.

Scott McTominay has already won the hearts of the Napoli support since moving from Manchester United in the summer – and he’s been joined by Billy Gilmour.

McCoist added: “I now find myself looking for the Napoli results. I watched them play against Juventus.

“Clearly both of them being out there will benefit Scottish football. It has to. For both of them to be playing regularly at the top level is great.

“Ever since the turn of the century, Scotland haven’t had enough players playing at the top level. Now that is changing and hopefully it’ll continue to change.

“The more players they have playing at the top level, the better the national team will become.”

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