David Moyes busts Scotland myths as he makes illuminating claim about McTominay

Former West Ham boss David Moyes believes changes are coming for Scotland and reckons reimagining Scott McTominay as a striker could lead to Euro 2024 success.

Steve Clarke and his players are licking their wounds after a chastening opening night against Germany. The 5-1 defeat means our boys need a result against Switzerland to keep alive their bid to reach the knockout stages for the first time in the country’s history. And Moyes – who was pitched the option of James Forrest starting against the Swiss by Gabriel Agbonlahor – believes Clarke should be trusted to get it right.

Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: “It’s easy to talk about changes but when you’re the manager who is in among the players, Steve Clarke will have a better idea than you or me on what would be his best team selection. I have no doubt there will be a couple of changes for the game.

“Billy Gilmour didn’t play, who is one of our better players with the ball. I think it was probably a decision, in the German game, we wouldn’t expect to have much of the ball. I think against Switzerland we’ll be hoping to have a bit more. But as you rightly said, Gabby, Switzerland has a lot of good players playing for big clubs throughout Europe. It’s a really tough game and I don’t think it’s a game which could easily be said ‘we should win this’. I think we are going to play really well to get a result.”

And Moyes reckons the rest of the continent is late to the party when it comes to the quality of Scotland’s upfront. And that’s why he reckons Man United star McTominay should be considered a live option to lead the line.

He added: “Before the tournament, I would have said the same thing. People who are just beginning to talk like that now are wrong. Before the tournament we were short. We had Lyndon Dykes, Che Adams, probably our best goalscoring player recently has been Scott McTominay. Who has scored a few goals, I always thought there was a chance Scott McTominay could play as a false nine. We just don’t have, maybe, the level of centre forwards which some of the other nations have got. You can’t go and sign players when you’re an international manager, you have to play with what you’ve got. Scotland have got to get a win, or a result, with the players they have got.”

And Moyes – taking time away from the game after leaving the Hammers – is adamant Switzerland will provide the sternest of challenges to a team who are itching for a transformative result. He said: “He’s got to get the confidence back, to go back to the hotel after a 5-1 defeat is a nightmare for any manager and you have to pick the players back up again. But, obviously, Germany are a really good side, they are one of the teams I would expect to go to the Final. I think Scotland shouldn’t be judged on the first game against Germany.

“But we all get judged on every game we play in. Switzerland is a difficult game for Scotland. It’s one of the better teams as well. We have a wee bit of nothing to lose but there is a hell of a lot to lose if we don’t get something from the game.”