Oli McBurnie is back in the Scotland squad (PA) Oli McBurnie does not care about people criticising his football ability but admits he is hurt by those who question his commitment to Scotland. “I’ve seen the criticism and it’s a regret for me that I haven’t put in my best performances when in a Scotland shirt but I really want to change that. It could have stopped a bit of the social media meltdown which followed. I am sure he’ll prove to be a valuable member of our squad. OLI McBURNIE could not hide his glee on social media after Rangers’ derby day win at Celtic. As soon as the Scottish FA got in touch to go to a youth training camp, it was really exciting. Now I’ll say this, the whole thing was badly mismanaged. I get myself into some silly situations by not really thinking and that’s just me as a person. Oli McBurnie does not care about people criticising his football ability but admits he is hurt by those who question his commitment to Scotland. “It does hurt me, it really does hurt me that I haven’t scored yet if I’m being completely honest,” he said. “But for me the hard one is the commitment because ever since I’ve been a kid I have seen myself as Scottish. Here’s hoping that they can enjoy it and toast a Scotland victory with their whisky! Leigh Griffiths has grabbed four strikes in his nineteen caps, all coming in the one year (2017). “Me and my little brother used to go to school with Scotland shirts on when England were playing in a World Cup, we had our faces painted with Scotland flags. “I have always considered myself Scottish, I was always told I was Scottish. To throw it all away because a few people have said some bad things? “The football one hurts my family more than it hurts me but I am used to that stuff. During his press conference Clarke made a point in praising McBurnie: “I don’t really read the stick that players are getting. Last month he was criticised on social media after pulling out of the Nations League openers through injury before playing 45 minutes of a pre-season friendly the following day. I am kind of a love-hate person or player, a lot of people like to not like me. Many thanks to @ScotlandNT / @ScottishFA for the ‘Watch From Home’ pack ahead of the Scotland v Israel game tomorrow night. Tweets by @ScotSuppNetwork A lot of people appreciate that I’m just a 24-year-old kid living his dream and enjoying myself. I think he’ll get better, as will the team, the more chances he gets to lead the line. “I could already see the headlines as I was warning up to come on,” he says. “I’ve been a pro since I was 16, I’ve had my fair share of criticism and positivity,” he says. I am what I am, I don’t try to pretend to be anything that I’m not. It’s one of the things I’m looking to put right, my form in the Scotland team.”, Available for everyone, funded by readers. When boss Steve Clarke named his squad, it included Sheffield United forward Oli McBurnie. Scotland endured a long wait for a player like Oli McBurnie. “I spoke to Robbo [Andy Robertson, the Scotland captain] straight after that came out, asking what to do,” he says. I know the way Scotland is. I also feel Scotland don’t always play to McBurnie’s strengths. There are multiple explanations. Watch BT Sport's unbeatable line-up of world-class live sport for just £25 per month. A vast number of his goals come inside the box and we sometimes don’t create enough chances in that area. Oli McBurnie has faced criticism but before Scotland’s play-off with Israel he is focused on helping his country reach Euro 2020, Thu 8 Oct 2020 08.00 BST The ‘stick’ has come from certain Scottish supporters and members of the media. “There’s a lot of things I have ticked off and the one thing I haven’t done is scored at international level, and not just score one, score goals. “It’s the pinnacle of football and you’re not going to get six or seven chances a game, you might get one chance a game and you just have to be ready to take it. “Thursday would be a delightful time to take it. Now unfortunately Oli won’t be Scotland’s number nine for these upcoming clashes. Last month he … I have worked so hard to be able to represent my country. Instead the mere mention of McBurnie’s name now triggers grumbling. At the time I decided to wait and see what the player and Steve Clarke had to say about the situation before reacting. Well if I’m willing to criticise their poor handling of that situation, then I should 100% congratulate The SFA on the wonderful PR that has come there way. Oli McBurnie does not care about people criticising his football ability but admits he is hurt by those who question his commitment to Scotland. It’s time for me to repay his faith and confidence.”. As well as showing fans that you care and understand that it’s hard not to be in the ground, it’s also a very smart way to get good publicity that involves key sponsors. © 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. I can’t speak highly enough of him. “The older I got the more mature I have got and the more I have realised you are never going to please everybody. People have long asked McBurnie why he bothers with the deviation from club responsibilities. “I can understand from the outside how it looks but it’s easy to get on top of me. © 2020 Supporters Direct Scotland. The Guardian - Back to home. !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)? He duly appeared for 45 minutes of a club friendly during the international break. The Sheffield United striker has twice been at the centre of those accusations in the past 14 months, firstly when a jocular comment made to club and international team-mate John Fleck was caught on camera and shared on social media. Yet the Blades hitman has only made nine appearances and of them only two of those appearances were starts. The former under-19 and under-21 international is desperate to get off the mark for the full team after nine caps. “I hadn’t trained all pre-season, I had been out for six weeks and I did one day of pre-season training and came on at half-time in a pre-season game. Days after it was announced that McBurnie wasn’t able to represent his nation, the forward came off the bench for his club side in a preseason friendly. “If people in Scotland say: ‘He is worth this [fee], he needs to come and do it on the international stage’ it’s fair enough. I hope the supporters enjoy their pies, bovril and Nutmeg magazine. 'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); Check the latest scores at www.soccer24.com.