What Grant Hanley had to say to Norwich team-mate Angus Gunn after Scotland victory for the ages

There is a reluctance from Grant Hanley to divulge exactly what he said to Angus Gunn to encourage his Norwich City team-mate to declare for Scotland.

Scotland's Grant Hanley wants the win over Spain to be bridge to regular victories over such calibre of opponent. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

It is a different story when it comes to what he communicated to the 27-year-old who has taken over the goalkeeping mantle from the injured Craig Gordon immediately following Tuesday’s victory for the ages over Spain. A 2-0 success that means, following his debut in last week’s 3-0 Euro 2024 opener over Cyprus, Gunn now boasts a two-cap international career in which he has yet to concede a goal in racking up back-to-back victories in front of almost 1000,000 punters at Hampden.

“I needed to tell Angus it isn’t always like this,” said Hanley with a smile. “He was over the moon to come in in his first camp, starting and then getting two clean sheets. He has taken to it really well and I have known him for years. I knew he would be fine and fit in with the group of boys straight away. Off the pitch he has been excellent as well. He couldn’t have had a better start and he was delighted. But we have to keep our feet on the ground. Kenny McLean and I had spoken to him about Scotland. I knew Angus could play for Scotland, the type of boy he is and the quality of player he is. We are delighted to have him involved.”

Little wonder Hanley simply wanted to savour one of the truly memorable occasions of his 48-cap career as a top tier nation were beaten for the first time since France in Paris in 16 years ago, with Spain defeated for the first time since 1984. “It was right up there as one of my best nights with Scotland,” said the 31-year-old. “It is difficult against teams like Spain because they have large spells of possession. But we have been slowly improving over the last wee while, and it is games like Tuesday – beating the top seeds in the group – we want on a regular basis. We don’t hide the fact that is where we want to be but we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves. We are only two games in and we have to keep improving and backing it up.”