Hibs stalwart Grant Hanley World Cup pick verdicts as Murray and Halliday disagree over age and pace concerns
Hibees legend predicts wins over Haiti AND Morocco - but just a draw with Brazil ...
Grant Hanley should get the chance to build on his partnership with Jack Hendry in Scotland’s first World Cup game in 28 years, according to Hibs legend Joelle Murray. But a former Hearts and Rangers star with a special place in the ‘affections’ of Easter Road regulars has branded the centre-half too old and slow to cope with the pace of Haiti.
Murray, who joined Andy Halliday on BBC Radio Scotland’s Scottish Football Podcast this morning, made a string of bold predictions, tipping Scotland to claim SEVEN points from their three Group C games against Haiti, Morocco and Brazil, while backing England to end 60 years of hurt by winning the biggest prize in football. The Hibs Women boss, a former Scotland centre-half who spoke about the mixed emotions of featuring in two major international finals without experiencing a minute of game time, also expects Lawrence Shankland to be top scorer for Steve Clarke’s team.
Easter Road regular impressed in final friendly
Impressed with how 34-year-old Hibs defender Hanley and 31-year-old Hendry, now playing in Saudi Arabia, gelled in last weekend’s friendly win over Bolivia, Murray made the case for keeping the pairing together, saying: “In terms of formation, I think a back four is what Steve Clarke will most likely go with. In terms of the central defensive pairing, I really liked that Hanley-Hendry combination; I think they complemented each other really well.
“You’ve got the experience, you’ve got youthfulness – even though Jack Hendry’s not that young. But I really liked that combination. So for me it would be a Hanley-Hendry centre-back combination between Hickey and Robertson in a back four.”
McKenna recovery pace a factor for Halliday
Halliday would rule Hanley out on grounds of age and a perceived lack of recovery pace, opting instead for 29-year-old Scott McKenna following the ex-Aberdeen star’s title-winning season with Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb, the former Ibrox and Tynecastle stalwart arguing: “I think, given it’s the last two friendlies are your final preparation, you try to take away two things. Has Steve Clarke shown his hand in terms of his formation and selection? Or is he trying to experiment with partnerships?
“I think he was certainly showing his hand with the 4-4-2. Given that this game is a must-win, he wants to get more attackers on the pitch.
“To combat that, against Haiti, means Scott McKenna has to play. He’s the most athletic out of the four, the quickest out of the four.
“There are going to scenarios where we’re defending on the halfway line. His recovery pace could be absolutely crucial.
“The big one is who partners him. Because I think Jack Hendry and Grant Hanley had a really good game against Bolivia last week.
“But I think, for me, I’m just going to give the nod to Jack Hendry. At Grant Hanley’s age, Jack just has that slightly better athleticism.
“So that pairing of McKenna and Hendry will be the one that gets the nod. Both players have had good seasons domestically.”
Murray, invited to pick her starting XI, went for Hearts veteran Craig Gordon between the sticks, a front pairing of Shankland and Che Adams – and dropped Ryan Christie from midfield to make way for a flat four of John McGinn, Lewis Ferguson, Scott McTominay and Ben Gannon Doak.
On the choice between Gordon and Angus Gunn in goal, she admitted: “Both are similar in terms of their lead-up to the World Cup, lacking those competitive minutes domestically. But I think, for me, a flip of a coin – as poor an answer as that sounds – I think Craig Gordon has shown time and time again that he can come in and pull off those big match-saving moments.
“But Angus Gunn, in Craig’s absence, has been fantastic. A flip of a coin. But I lean towards Craig Gordon.
“In the midfield, there are players in there who are undroppable. McTominay, McGinn, players who have been unbelievable in their performance levels.
“Shankland and Adams, three goals and a couple of assists, their link-up play has been unbelievable. As a player, you’re always told train well, play well and you’ll put yourself in the best possible position for selection – and they’ve done that in abundance.
“So for me they’re a stick-on up front as a two. In midfield, you need that central midfielder who is going to allow your creative players to go forward, in the knowledge that they’ll have that player behind them who will regain the ball, break up play and then play forward.
“It’s frustrating for players like Christie, who have done no wrong. But I think that’s probably the best four and two for this game.”
Defending her bold prediction of Scotland bagging two wins and a draw from a group boasting the reigning African champions and the legendary Brazilians, Murray said: “We’ll get the first two wins. I think we’ll go for it. And then just draw with Brazil …”
Reflecting on her own big-tournament experience, meanwhile, the multiple title winner said: “I went to the 2017 Euros, didn’t play a single match. So I guess that maybe prepared me a little bit for the World Cup in 2019.
“It’s a difficult one. I was proud to be in the group. It was certainly a privilege. I knew I was in the minority, somewhere a lot of players would have wanted to be.
“But there’s also that personal disappointment in not taking to the pitch in any of those matches. So, it’s trying to get the balance of being proud and privileged to be in a position where a lot of players wanted to be, but trying to hide that personal disappointment away from the group.
“I believe I was probably in the group for being a good team-mate. A morale booster.
“But I believed in my ability. There were times in those games where I thought I could have come on and made a difference, albeit I was a defender.
“It is difficult because, as a footballer, I want to win. I want to win in everything I do. I want to be the best version of myself.
“I would have wanted to take to the pitch. But that’s an uncontrollable. I had to control what I could control within that frustrating situation.”