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James McFadden’s urge for Scotland
Tuesday 7th September 2010, 11:25AM BST.
Birmingham’s “maverick” forward James McFadden has been urged by Scotland coach Craig Levein to prove he deserves a regular place in the national team.
Despite labelling him Scotland’s “most talented player”, Levein left the Blues ace on the bench for over an hour of Friday’s Euro 2012 qualifying opener against Lithuania.
McFadden is set to start against Liechtenstein at Hampden Park tonight but Levein wants to see more from him.
He said: “The best teams in the world have extremely talented players who work their backsides off.
“Is McFadden a maverick? He has all the talent in the world but getting him into this way of thinking – that everybody has responsibility – is a challenge.”
“There is every chance he will play against Liechtenstein. But the question he needs to ask is will he play in our next qualifier against Spain?
“James can go some way towards answering that with what he does in this game.”
Levein believes he isn’t the first Scotland manager who has struggled to accommodate McFadden.
The national boss said: “We need to play with passion and aggression – but everyone has to buy into it.
“Is it a gamble to play James? I think previous managers have wondered what to do with him.
“I do not mind players being careless in possession. What concerns me is the thought ‘if I lose it, can I get it back again?’
“This is not me having a go at James. He is unquestionably our most talented player, so why has he not played 90 minutes in every game for his country or club?”
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