Kenny McLean acknowledged his personal father and son Fletcher double following Scotland’s 4-1 friendly win over 10-man Curacao at Barclays Hampden.
The 34-year-old Norwich midfielder watched 19-year-old Tyler Fletcher, son of former Scotland captain Darren Fletcher, come off the bench at the interval to make his debut with the World Cup send-off game tied at 1-1, albeit the Manchester United playmaker is not in Steve Clarke’s squad for North America.
Darren Fletcher, whose other twin son Jack has played up to under-19 level for England, captained the Scotland side when McLean made his debut off the bench against the Czech Republic in 2016.
And the former St Mirren and Aberdeen midfielder said: “Obviously, I played with his dad in my first couple of squads. And in my first session, he stood out a mile. Fortunately for us, and for Scotland, his son was pretty similar, so there’s a lot of potential there.
“Tyler came on today. I can’t speak highly enough of him through the week. I said to the lads after his first session, I could see something special in him, so I was glad that he got on today, deserved it after the week he had had.”
Read more
-
SPFL side appoint former Premier League stalwart as new manager
-
Scotland manager 'praying' Billy Gilmour isn't ruled out of World Cup by knee injury
-
How every Scotland player performed as Hampden send-off ends in style for hosts
Dick Advocaat’s Curacao took the lead in the 17th minute through a fine Tahith Chong goal before striker Jurgen Locadia was sent off a for late challenge on Scotland defender Aaron Hickey in the 37th minute, following a VAR intervention.
Injured midfielder Billy Gilmour’s replacement, Findlay Curtis, levelled with his first goal for the national team in his second appearance before a Lawrence Shankland double and a Ryan Christie penalty gave the Tartan Army something to cheer ahead of next week’s final World Cup warm-up game against Bolivia in New Jersey.
Scotland’s squad this week also included Dundee’s 22-year-old centre-back Luke Graham and Hearts’ forward James Wilson, 19, and McLean believes the future is bright for the national team. He added: “People speak about the future, but a lot of these young lads are the present.
“We’ve had a few in with this week, and I’ve been so, so impressed. Honestly, we are in good hands going forward. I’m sure of that. And when the time’s right for them to fully establish themselves, the manager will choose the right time for them.
“Findlay came in last camp, made an impression, that why he’s on the plane to the World Cup. So, yeah, these lads can definitely make a difference for us, in the present and they’ve got a really good future ahead of them in a Scotland shirt.”
