Kris Boyd: Switch Scotland football to BT Murrayfield

Kilmarnock's Kris Boyd at Murrayfield. Picture: Craig Foy/SNS

The Kilmarnock striker, an ex-Scotland international, had a productive afternoon at the home of Scottish rugby on Sunday, scoring his side’s opener in a 2-1 win over Hearts.

Boyd said it would be “wonderful” to see the Scotland football team playing there.

Having vouched for the quality of the stadium, Boyd believes switching games from the west coast to the east is something that should, at least, be up for discussion.

The SFA’s lease at Hampden is due to expire in 2020. The Scottish football governing body has asked the Scottish Rugby Union to submit a proposal for holding cup finals and internationals at BT Murrayfield, which has been hired by Hearts for four league matches as the new main stand at Tynecastle nears completion.

The last of those was on Sunday and Boyd scored the 31st minute goal that helped Kilmarnock on their way to victory over Craig Levein’s side.

“You won’t get many better surfaces than that,” said Boyd. “It is a bit of a false environment in terms of the atmosphere because it was not full.

“But [it would be different }if the national team was to come through here. Last week [Hearts v Rangers] I was led to believe it was a fantastic atmosphere. Big stadiums when they are full give off something else – for the likes of us, it was never going to be a full-house but you can still see what it’s like when you get a decent crowd in.

“It would be wonderful to see the national team through here if that is the case going forward, because it is an unbelievable stadium. It is the biggest in Scotland. You want to attract and give the fans the best opportunity to come along and have the best match experience and you definitely get that out there.”

Boyd, who scored seven goals in 18 games for Scotland, acknowledged Hampden’s place in the affections of nostalgic Scottish football fans.

“Hampden has a lot of history as well,” he added. “But, when you look at the big picture, Hampden is starting to get a bit dated. Do we want to lose the national team playing in Glasgow? No we don’t.

“But we have a fantastic facility through here – the infrastructure and everything is here. We would be silly not to use it. And there are a lot of Scotland fans based through here.”