Mason Mount was unsurprised by Billy Gilmour’s starring role in Scotland’s Euro 2020 draw with England insisting his Chelsea team-mate continues to swim rather than sink on the big stage.
Gilmour was named man of the match as Scotland left Wembley with a well-deserved 0-0 draw to keep alive their hopes of qualifying from Group D.
The 20-year-old was left out of the side as Steve Clarke’s men lost their opener to the Czech Republic but was entrusted in the midfield against England, making his full senior debut in combative conditions.
Gilmour started just three Premier League games for Chelsea last season and picked up a Champions League winner’s medal as an unused substitute in the win over Manchester City.
His display against England earned him rave reviews but, for club-mate Mount, there was nothing unexpected by Gilmour’s performance.
“He didn’t surprise me, I know what he is like as a player,” said Mount.
He gets chucked in at the deep end sometimes and he is always swimming.
“We had a good battle and every time he plays he seems to get man of the match – he has done it the few times he played at Chelsea.
“He gets chucked in at the deep end sometimes and he is always swimming.
“I always watched his development and he is going to keep getting better and better and that is good for him personally, for the club and also at international level.”
While Scotland were praised for their performance, England were jeered off the pitch by a small minority of supporters.
Mount says the England players cannot be distracted by the negative reaction as the Three Lions now need to beat the Czech Republic on Tuesday night to top the group.
He added: “I have had a lot of boos in my short career, that is obviously from away fans or home fans!
“We just try to focus on ourselves and how we can improve, what areas of our game we can do better in.
“I think obviously we know how big the game was but the way we played, we tried to break them down and score goals.
“The way they set up, with five at the back, made it tough for us but we got the point and we move on now. Hopefully we win the next game and we are through.
“I think there is pressure on every game, we are England and are always looking to win every game and the performances we look to put in have to be top quality.”
