Sheffield Wednesday ace Barry Bannan on Scotland’s ‘fresh start’

It remains to be seen who will succeed Alex McLeish as Scotland's new boss.
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Nearly a fortnight has passed since McLeish was sacked, having lost seven of his 12 matches in charge of the national team.

The 60-year-old, who was in his second spell as national coach, came under increasing pressure after a poor start to the Euro 2020 qualifiers.

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Scotland suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat to world ranked 117 nation Kazakhstan before recording an unconvincing 2-0 victory over San Marino, the world's lowest-ranked side.

Barry Bannan is looking forward to a new beginning at international levelBarry Bannan is looking forward to a new beginning at international level
Barry Bannan is looking forward to a new beginning at international level

Wednesday star Barry Bannan told The Star: "We will see who the manager is who comes in. It will probably be different with different players.

"Every manager does something different from what has happened before.

"It is a fresh start for everybody involved in Scotland.

"I will keep working hard for my club and hopefully I will get noticed."

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Former England chief Sven-Goran Eriksson was heavily linked with the vacant managerial job last week. World Cup winner Berti Vogts is the only non-Scot to have been Scotland boss.

The Scots face Cyprus and Belgium in Euro 2020 qualifying in June.

"I'm concentrating on my club football," stressed Bannan. "I was picked last time for the squad but I pulled out through injury.

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"It is one of them things where you have to keep working hard for your club and hopefully you get noticed."

Bannan has earned plenty of plaudits from Owls chief Steve Bruce in recent weeks after producing a number of eye-catching performances in the middle of the park.

He said: "It is nice to get a bit of praise from the gaffer. The most important thing is for me to do my job here."

The midfielder bagged a goal and an assist in Saturday's pulsating encounter at Preston North End. He hailed the "great fight" and "team spirit" Wednesday demonstrated after a "bad first half".

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