How Grant Hanley salvaged Scotland Euro 2024 chances at Norwich and his Billy Gilmour testimonial

This season has taught Grant Hanley not to look too far ahead. “It’s only one day at a time,” says the Scotland defender, who is just glad to be in provisional squad for Euro 2024. A few months ago, his participation was in serious doubt.

The 32-year-old centre-half, capped 48 times by Scotland, is one of manager Steve Clarke’s most dependable players. He ruptured his Achilles in April last year and when he returned to action during the festive period, he sensed the injury had not fully healed. Taking “a step back” allowed his body to recover enough to link up with the Scotland camp this week. He has only played ten minutes of football with his club Norwich since March and is mature enough to realise he is not 100 per cent match fit.

Friendlies against Gibraltar tomorrow and Finland on Friday will give him a chance to stake his claim before the 28-man squad is trimmed to 26.

Grant Hanley has battled back from an Achilles injury to be part of the Scotland squad.

“It’s been a difficult year off the back of quite a bad injury,” said Hanley. “I came back around Christmas time and played a few games – but it just wasn’t right. It wasn’t just my Achilles, it was my ankle in general. So I took a step back, changed a few things and it’s improved. I knew time wasn’t on my side when I made that decision.

“But it was better than trying to get through and it deteriorating quickly. I’m glad I did it because if I hadn’t and tried to persevere, I wouldn’t be sitting here now. I’m grateful to the management and coaching staff at Norwich for getting me the help to get myself right. I’ve somehow managed to get myself involved with the squad at least.

“I certainly feel better now than I did in March. I’ve trained for a few weeks now and came off the bench for ten minutes. It’s difficult to answer the question in terms of match sharpness. Am I 100 per cent? No, because I haven’t played games. But I’m closer than I was.

“When I made the decision and pulled out of the March squad I knew it would be touch and go. That was a tough call for me to make because during my career, when I’ve had injury issues, I’ve just kept my head down and battered on. I’m sure that’s the attitude of 99 per cent of players. But unfortunately for me, I was maybe a bit naive on this occasion in terms of how bad the injury was. I thought I could get through it and things would work themselves out. But they didn’t. It really did help me. It wasn’t loads of things or another operation. I had a few injections which seemed to help.”

Hanley made his Scotland debut in 2011 against Wales.

There was a time when Hanley, a no-nonsense defender who was part of the team at the last Euros, was not such a popular member of the Scotland ranks. He has taken time to win the fans over since his debut 13 years ago against Wales but the Tartan Army now see the value of him. Hanley has shown resilience throughout his international career.

“I’ve tried my best to not let outside influences affect how I’m feeling about how I’m playing,” continued Hanley. “All I can say is I’ve loved it since I came back in, these have been the best years of my career club-wise and international-wise. I’ve felt a difference in that I feel part of the squad. The way the squad is going, the way we’re performing and how we’re doing, I want to be part of it.

“One of the biggest things I’ve noticed over the years is the atmosphere is first-class. The atmosphere, the togetherness and spirit we have is like a club feel when we’re together. What we do really well is spending time together, team bonding and that’s a major factor in why we’ve been so successful.

“Since I got back involved a few years ago I have absolutely loved it. I have had a great opportunity to play for my country and get a lot of caps I probably didn’t think I’d get. At this stage, with what I’ve gone through and how things have played out over the last year or so – even more so the last six months – it’s only one day at a time. I know roughly what the end goal is, and that’s to hopefully get involved in some capacity here with the Euros. But it’s one day at a time and let's see where it takes us.”

Hanley knows just how talented Billy Gilmour is.

Should Hanley make the cut and go to Germany, he will be one of the oldest outfield players in the group. One of the youngest is midfielder Billy Gilmour, who Hanley was a team-mate of at Norwich during the 2021/22 season. The Canaries were relegated and the on-loan playmaker struggled badly in a toiling team. He has since gone on to be a major hit at Brighton.

“There was never a doubt about Billy – he will probably blame me because I was the one who persuaded him to come to Norwich!" laughed Hanley. “What he took from that experience will stand him in good stead for the rest of his career. Now he’s playing week-in, week-out in the Premier League and I’m sure that will be the case for a lot of years to come.”