Scotland should forget about moving to Murrayfield - Steven Naismith

Steven Naismith says Scotland should forget about moving to BT Murrayfield - but reckons the national team must consider going on the road.
Scotland's Steven Naismith wheels away after he nods home the opener. Picture; SNSScotland's Steven Naismith wheels away after he nods home the opener. Picture; SNS
Scotland's Steven Naismith wheels away after he nods home the opener. Picture; SNS

The Hearts frontman helped Alex McLeish’s side get off to a winning start in their inaugural Nations League campaign.

However, there were just 17,455 fans at Hampden to see him force an own goal before nodding home the second as the Scots claimed a 2-0 win over Albania.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A combination of the Monday night scheduling, £30-a-head ticket prices and the sense of malaise produced by Friday night’s 4-0 hammering from Belgium proved to be a turn-off for the Tartan Army.

The sight of a half-empty Hampden will have alarmed those campaign for the Scottish Football Association to retain the national team’s historic home ahead of this week’s decision on whether to make Murrayfield the new home of both rugby and football.

Read More
Scotland 2, Albania 0: Steven Naismith on target in Nations League victory

Naismith hopes the governing body rejects the lure of the 67,000-capacity Edinburgh arena - but he also believes Scotland will be damaging their own prospects if they do not consider moving some fixtures elsewhere.

“If it’s a straight shoot then I’d say stay at Hampden - but it does need to be looked at,” said Naismith. “Tonight is a prime example.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“These kind of games would be better suited at other club grounds that are not as big but have a much better atmosphere.

“There’s definitely a difference (when the crowd is not as big). When I played here against Spain and Holland and it’s a full crowd, it’s a fantastic stadium to play your football in.

“But when it’s a Monday night and there is 20-odd thousand there, it’s a different game altogether.

“We knew it would be like that so we worked together and we created the tempo ourselves.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“You do need to congratulate the people who did come as it’s a tough day of the week to come but we could gain a bit more advantage if we had a smaller stadium that has a much better atmosphere.

“It’s not just Tynecastle (as a solution). We’ve got some fantastic grounds. Aberdeen are moving forward with a new stadium, Hibs, Hearts, the Old Firm - why not take advantage of them if it can help us?”