Scotland half-centurion addresses Hampden fan boos and delivers blunt admission after Greece humbling

Kenny McLean insists his Scotland teammates won’t hide from criticism after the team were booed off by a section of the Hampden Park support following the 3-0 Nations League playoff defeat to Greece on Sunday night.

Steve Clarke’s side took a narrow 1-0 first-leg lead heading into the game in Glasgow, but quickly saw their advantage evaporate as goals from Giannis Konstantelias, Konstantinos Karetsas and Christos Tzolis helped the visitors to a comfortable 3-1 aggregate win on a difficult night for the hosts.

Scotland’s biggest home defeat since a 4-0 loss to Belgium five-and-a-half years ago, some supporters greeted the full time whistle with jeers, while the decision to sub off midfielder Billy Gilmour earlier in the game was met with audible groans as the Glasgow crowd aired its frustration. McLean says the team fully understand why Hampden support were unhappy with the performance of the team.

“I don't think we created enough after the first 15 minutes tonight,” said McLean. “Obviously, we had a couple of chances early on, didn't take them, that's fine, that's football. But I think when they scored a goal, I think it affected us a little bit more than maybe it should have, especially with the tie sitting at 1-1.

Scotland's Andy Robertson and Kenny McLean look dejected as they watch on from the bench in the 3-0 defeat to Greece. | SNS Group

“If you put a performance in like that, then you need to take the criticism that comes with it. We're not going to shy away from the performance. We know it wasn't good enough, so fans are going to voice their opinions. That's how it is. We done so much to get here. They'll be frustrated and disappointed the way we are. Obviously, it's not nice to hear [the boos], but we get their frustration and we get their anger. It's one we need to take because it is a really disappointing night.”

Despite the disappointment of defeat, the game saw the 32-year-old hit a personal milestone, earning his 50th international cap for the Tartan Army. While he concedes it was a proud moment for both himself and his family, the Norwich City ace is already switching focus towards his 51st cap as he aims to right the wrongs of Sunday’s 0-3 reverse.

“We've got to sit on that for a while now,” said McLean. “We've got a couple of friendlies in the summer that we can then improve again in, maybe look at one or two other things and how we do things. We can look at being a bit more solid across the board and not concede poor goals. It's something we all need to reflect on, not just the manager and the staff. They'll obviously look at things a lot deeper than us as players because we'll go back to our clubs now, but we need to get better as a whole unit.

“It is obviously a massive privilege and an honour to play every time I do. To reach 50 tonight is obviously bittersweet. Further down the line I will look back and really reflect on my international career. But to get to 50 is a really proud moment for me and my family and stuff like that. Thankfully the manager has put a lot of faith in me and gave me a lot of those caps. He’s always relied on me and I've always tried to show up as much as I can and do as much as I can for the team and for the squad.”