How Lyndon Dykes remains intent on stealing John McGinn's Scotland crown

A win over Spain and qualification for Euro 2024 feel like small potatoes compared to the objective from his days in the dark blue of Scotland that Lyndon Dykes refuses to give up on.

Lyndon Dykes says he been determined to be a striker Scotland "want and need" from his very first camp. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

The 27-year-old will lead the line against the Spanish at Hampden on Tuesday night after Che Adams was lost to a calf problem during Saturday’s 3-0 success at home to Cyprus. Nothing feels guaranteed beyond that for Dykes, beyond the fact that McGinn’s double at the weekend - to take his Scotland tally to 16 - has outside observers certain the Aston Villa captain will prove the most prodigious scorer of his international era. Not least because his Australian-born team-mate has only half that total, bagging eight goals since he debuted for his adopted country little under two-and-a-half years ago.

McGinn, now Scotland’s sixth highest goalscorer, appears to have the momentum to make it into the mid-20s and sit behind only Denis Law and Kenny Dalglish, joint top Scotland scorers on the 30 mark. However, the Queens Park Rangers frontman remains convinced he can leapfrog Steve Clarke’s scoring talisman on the all-time list. “I’m still trying to catch McGinn so I need to score a few more goals,” he said of the fabled patriot’s latest exploits. “He’s got double my goals but he’s played double the number of games [with 53 appearances to my 27] .. I can still catch him.”

Dykes may mull over personal milestones off the pitch, but sacrifices himself for his team on it. As was demonstrated with his bright half-hour cameo in the Euro 2024 opener on replacing the stricken Adams, with his cushioned header teeing up Scott McTominay to produce a sparkling finish for Scotland’s crucial second. The striker betrayed no ill-effects from the serious bout of pneumonia that hospitalised him in January, and was gleeful over his return to the international fold, as he injected energy into Clarke’s set-up as McTominay’s late double secured a comfortable victory.

‘I enjoyed myself on Saturday,” he said. “I was playing with a smile on my face. I was happy to get on. I am always happy when I’m playing with Scotland. I just wanted to make an impact and I thought Ryan and I did that and big Scotty. The header for Scotty’s goal was off the cuff. I saw him darting in behind just outside my eyeline and it was a great finish by him. He made me look good. It was a hard finish and he did well. He scored two and he was delighted. Scoring two off the bench is a great feeling but I made sure that he knew my assist had helped him with the goal.”

Dyke’s driven display wasn’t in any way a dig in the direction of Clarke, who suggested the bustling forward would have been annoyed not to have made his starting line-up. ‘I’m always professional,” said the player. “I want to play every game when I am away with Scotland. From the very first game I came away with the squad so many caps ago I always wanted to play. I wanted to come here and be the striker that Scotland needed and wanted. The manager picks the team at the end of the day and it is what it is. But if I am on the bench, it is a case of looking to come on and make an impact, like I did on Saturday. And if I’m starting, making an impact from the very start. We have a great team bond especially with me and Che and Jacob Brown and Shanks [Lawrence Shankland] coming in now. There’s good competition but we are all close on and off the training ground.”