Much has been made of the negative effect the arrival of Kevin De Bruyne at Napoli has had on Scott McTominay this season.
It hasn’t exactly been great news for Billy Gilmour either. However, the former Chelsea and Brighton midfielder insists the Serie A champions’ Scottish contingent will not be thrown off-course by the looming presence of KDB as they bid to guide their country to a first World Cup finals since 1998.
McTominay was voted the best player in the Italian top flight last term in the wake of a stunning campaign that saw him score 12 goals — including a stunning bicycle-kick on the last day of the season — but a positional change to accommodate De Bruyne in a 4-1-4-1 system has led to criticism in recent weeks.
Coaching legend Fabio Capello has stated that McTominay is being ‘usurped’ by the Belgian — with heat maps published by the national press indicating that the twosome are operating way too often in the same parts of the pitch.
It’s hardly a full-on crisis, mind you. Napoli are top of the table on goal difference from AS Roma and McTominay, at least, is getting a game. Gilmour, you could argue, is finding his second season in Naples every bit as exacting if not more.
After starting last term restricted to more substitute appearances than he might have liked, he broke into the side following injury to Stanislav Lobotka and helped power the club to the title with some excellent displays.
De Bruyne has been an ever-present for Napoli this season, while Gilmour has found his game time restricted
McTominay and Gilmour have both failed to hit the heights of last season for Napoli
This term, though, he has started just one of eight games so far – in a 3-2 win over Pisa, in which he scored the first club goal of his senior career. Other than that, he has largely been restricted to cameos off the bench. Lobotka is fit again, which is, admittedly, Gilmour’s primary problem and there’s nowhere else to squeeze him in.
Gilmour refuses to countenance the view, though, that bringing in 34-year-old De Bruyne from Manchester City has needlessly disrupted a winning formula and believes both he and McTominay will find a way to coexist happily with him and benefit from working with a true world-class figure in the longer-term.
‘When Kevin De Bruyne signs, everyone knows how good a player he is. You see that every day in training and in the games,’ he said. ‘When a big player like that signs, it’s good. All the boys that have come in with the new signings have done well, but, for me, it’s competing with these guys to try and get games and enjoy it.’
Asked whether McTominay still possesses the magic dust he sprinkled across the league last term, Gilmour stated: ‘Of course. From last season, he’s MVP of the league and scored so many goals, winning goals for us in games.
‘You see when it comes to Scott just how much the fans love him. He’s had a bit of a difficult time, but I’m sure he will turn it around.’
Not starting for Napoli, however, has had a knock-on effect when it comes to Gilmour’s Scotland career. He was left out of the starting line-up for the midweek 3-1 win over Greece at Hampden, although his arrival off the bench just before the hour mark was followed by the three goals that led to a quite remarkable comeback victory.
Quite frankly, Gilmour should be a mainstay in midfield, although his lack of game time at club level makes that more difficult to put forward as a non-negotiable. He’s the only player Scotland has with the capability to take the ball in tight positions and link up defence and midfield and the team generally performs better when he is in it.
The Napoli duo remain in good spirits ahead of the Scotland v Belarus World Cup qualifier
Steve Clarke takes Scotland training ahead of the crucial clash at home to Belarus
On Gilmour’s frustration over being left on the bench against the Greeks, national coach Steve Clarke said: ‘I am frustrated as well that I can’t put every good player on the pitch.
‘It always seems to be the one you leave out is the one you are hit over the head with. That is my life. It is part and parcel of the job.
‘I feel for him, but I knew the way Billy was training during the week that, when I put him on the pitch, he would help us.’
And Gilmour has admitted that not making the starting XI just fires him up to raise his game to new levels.
‘It’s never nice to sit on the bench,’ he said. ‘I don’t think anyone likes it, so, no, it wasn’t great (against Greece),’ he said. ‘But we’ve got a squad here and you need to be ready when called upon.
‘I need to show when I come on that I should be starting and that goes for the other boys as well.
‘Of course, you get frustrated when you find out you’re on the bench. Then you take the day to think things through and, after that, when you’re back on the pitch, you need to help the starting team prepare. You need to be fully there.
‘It’s a squad game and I can’t be moaning around and blaming stuff, because this is a squad that sticks together. When I come off the bench, though, I want to try and prove to him that he shouldn’t leave me out. You have to have a positive mentality, try and change his mind.’
Gilmour admits he dreamed of playing at a World Cup as a schoolboy in his native Ayrshire and realises that it is now so close with Scotland top of the group with Denmark on seven points — and playing host to Brian Riemer’s side at Hampden next month.
Lyndon Dykes (centre) gets the credit after his goal secured the win over Greece last time out
Asked whether making it to North America next summer would mean more to him than lifting the Serie A title has the 24-year-old stumped, though.
‘Oh, a Serie A medal is a special, special thing for me,’ he said. ‘I mean, I’d love to go to the World Cup. That’s obviously the dream. Every Scotland fan’s dream, every kid growing up that’s played football and watched Scotland knows that it’s the biggest event.
‘So, if we get that, I’m sure it’ll be a massive proud moment for me and my family.
‘When you’re young and you go down to the parks, you say you’re playing ‘World Cuppy’, doubles and singles, like you’re playing in the World Cup. It’s every child’s dream to go and play for their country or go and play for the biggest club team to go to Champions League or the World Cup.
‘It is three games away and, hopefully, we can get it done.’
Should Clarke’s men see off Belarus at Hampden at tea-time and Denmark beat Greece in Copenhagen later in the evening, Scotland will at least be guaranteed a play-off spot in their quest to qualify for the finals.
If it does come down to a head-to-head with Riemer’s side, goal difference could be a factor, but Gilmour refuses to look upon that as a reason to build up hopes of hammering the Belarusians in the wake of their 6-0 loss to Denmark during the week.
‘Yeah, we’ve seen that about the 6-0 score the other night, but I think Belarus are a good team,’ he said. ‘We all need to be at it and make sure we’re clinical and just try and get the three points.’
