'That’s big nuts': Forget Cristiano Ronaldo, biggest character at Hampden was unsung Scotland hero

“That’s proper character,” smiled Scotland midfielder Kenny McLean in the aftermath of the morale-boosting 0-0 Nations League draw against Portugal on Tuesday.

In the lead up to Tuesday’s draw with Scotland’s glamourous opponents, much of the talk surrounded the character of his muscle-bound, superstar opponent Cristiano Ronaldo. The 39-year-old fired himself down flumes off the pitch and provided a truly theatrical performance on it.

Spotted with a sullen expression after the clash, Ronaldo briefly milled around the Hampden Park mixed zone in nothing but designer underpants and flip-flops, as Portuguese staff frantically shooed the waiting media away from his very presence.

For Scotland midfielder McLean though, the biggest character on the pitch was wearing blue, the man who had blunted the five time Ballon d’Or winner with consummate ease, Norwich City team-mate Grant Hanley. “He’ll always do, like the rest of us, as much as he can for his country,” said McLean. “He’s my captain back at Norwich. He’s not playing right now and he’s still such a huge influence around the place.”

Grant Hanley keeps a watchful eye on Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo. Cr: SNS Group. | SNS Group

The last 18 months have been some of the toughest of Hanley’s career. Ruled out of the majority of the last season through injury, he recovered in time to be included in Steve Clarke’s Euros squad last summer, but entered a major tournament on the back of playing just 132 minutes in three months.

The arrival of new boss Johannes Hoff Thorup at Carrow Road this season has resulted in Hanley’s game time restricted even more, playing just 42 minutes of football. The 35-year-old Danish head coach has opted for a young profile in his starting XI. McLean, 32, has been one of the few experienced men to have survived the cull.

In Scotland’s last game at Hampden, Hanley’s lack of match fitness was exposed. A clumsy late tackle in the area resulted in the penalty that saw Scotland fall to a gut-wrenching injury time defeat against Poland in their Nations League opener, with the wounds from their early exit from Euro 2024 still fresh in the memory.

There were harsh words for Hanley. His place in the team under the microscope, there were calls for him to be replaced in the Scotland starting XI. Five weeks on, Hanley proved why Clarke still views him as a trusted lieutenant with his mountainous display against Portugal.

“I think what makes it more impressive is the fact that he’s not playing back at club level,” smiled McLean. “He’s not played since the last [Scotland] game. That’s big nuts. Especially in that position, not to have that momentum coming into games and being brought on out of the cold, it must be tough.

Kenny McLean and Grant Hanley in training at the Oriam. Cr: SNS Group. | SNS Group

“But that’s what he lives for, coming into big occasions like that and balls coming in the box. He’s going to be there. That’s another leader we have here. The manager is always going to trust the responsibility he puts on Grant.”

Often an unsung hero himself, McLean can relate. The experienced midfielder has won the majority of his 42 Scotland caps from the bench. Tasked with the role of ‘impact sub’ more often than not, the Norwich City man has now started each of Scotland’s last four games following the international retirement of Tartan Army stalwart Callum McGregor.

An underrated figure since the early days of the Clarke regime, McLean has been at the forefront of some of the country’s most iconic moments in recent years. Lost in the emotion of David Marshall’s memorable penalty save against Serbia, it is easy to forget it was McLean who calmly tucked away the high-pressure fifth penalty in both shootout wins over Israel and Serbia, on the way to Scotland qualifying for their first major tournament in 23 years.

Forced to get over the disappointment of missing Euro 2020 with injury, he once again demonstrated his big game mentality in the following Euro qualification campaign, smartly placing home the glorious late winning goal that secured a vital 2-1 win over Norway in Oslo. At the tournament itself though, he was restricted to just 43 minutes of action.

On Tuesday, McLean’s understated impact was felt once again, winning 100% of his tackles, 67% of his ground duels and completing 74% of his passes during his 94 minutes on the pitch, his blossoming partnership with Gilmour another positive for Scotland to take from the game.

“I have waited a long time, but I’ll never show that disappointment,” explained the Norwich ace. “I’m in the manager’s plans. I always have been and he’s always shown that faith and confidence in me. I’ve always had responsibility from the manager. Obviously I’m starting games now, and it’s probably just match days that people see but behind the scenes I’m always trying to help everybody as much as I can. I do that at club level as well.

Kenny McLean celebrates after making it 2-1 during a UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifier match between Norway and Scotland. Cr: SNS Group. | SNS Group

“I come away here and I think the manager trusts that I’ll make people around the squad better. At this moment in time, I find myself in the team and I’m just going to try and do everything I can to stay there.

“We take responsibility for not getting results. We know we’ve got the players and the quality that can keep the ball and make other teams suffer the way we did quite a lot tonight. We know how it feels when we’ve not got the ball. We had it a lot tonight. So we need to take that next step and make other teams suffer. But I think the discipline tonight was excellent and that’s what got us the result.”

Next stop for Scotland is Croatia at Hampden on November 15. A chance to jump back into the top 50 of the FIFA rankings before the end of the year, there’s a strong chance both McLean and Hanley will be at the spine of Scotland’s starting XI as the duo are offered another opportunity to prove they can mix it with the best, as they did on Tuesday night.