McCulloch backs McLeish and McFadden to succeed with Scotland

Former Scotland international Lee McCulloch believes Alex McLeish and James McFadden are ideally suited to mould a new team.

McCulloch played for Motherwell and Scotland under McLeish, who kick-starts his second spell in charge on Friday with a Hampden friendly against Costa Rica.

The 39-year-old also played alongside McFadden for club and country and appreciated the support of his former Fir Park colleague on international duty.

McFadden is in McLeish’s backroom team along with Peter Grant and goalkeeping coach Stevie Woods, and there is a freshness about the playing squad too.

Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay is among six players who are experiencing international football for the first time, while a seventh, Dylan McGeouch, pulled out through injury. Three others are looking to win their first caps too.

McLeish has challenged the newcomers to force their way into his plans for the UEFA Nations League campaign, with Scotland competing with Israel and Albania for a guaranteed Euro 2020 play-off.

McCulloch said: “There are five friendlies before the real stuff starts so I think that probably is enough time to hit the ground running for the first game.

“It’s about bedding the players and the team in and that’s what Alex is good at. He is a good man-manager and is all about the culture created in the squad.

“First of all, he helped me when I was playing with Motherwell. He gave me my debut when I had just turned 17 and he was brilliant with me.

“I was a wee bit uptight at that age, believe it or not, and he would always put his arm round me and help me relax. He was all about the full family thing, he would phone my mum and dad and talk to me and make an example of me, in a good way, in front of the boys.

“I will always look up to Alex and I think he can really make a stamp again. He has done it before and hopefully he does it again.

“He is the ideal guy to bed in new players and James McFadden is brilliant in a dressing room as well.”

McFadden was a hero to Scotland fans with 15 goals in 48 internationals but McCulloch revealed the former Everton and Birmingham player had a major influence off the park.

“He was good for me,” said the former Rangers captain, who won seven of his 18 caps under McLeish.  “I went a few games when I was struggling for confidence for Scotland, and he was the guy I sort of leaned on. He was brilliant and still is, I talk to him quite a lot.”

McCulloch recently returned to Scotland after a brief spell as assistant manager to former Rangers fitness coach Adam Owens at Polish top-flight club Lechia Gdansk.

“It was an amazing experience,” he said. “It was never going to be a long thing, I was only going to be there until the summer or until the manager left.

“It was a massive club, a 42,000-seater stadium, and the standard was great.

“From a personal point of view it was about trying to help manage different cultures – Portuguese, French, Polish – and get a togetherness in the dressing room. But I loved it and I would do the same again tomorrow.”

– Lee McCulloch was speaking at a William Hill media event. William Hill is a proud sponsor of Scottish football.