CALLUM McGregor has urged his Scotland team mates to rally around Billy Gilmour in the wake of his difficult season at Norwich City – but backed his central midfield partner to emerge from the experience even stronger.
Chelsea loanee Gilmour was singled out for a section of the Norwich support for abuse as the Carrow Road club struggled during the 2021/22 campaign and was unable to prevent them from being relegated from the Premier League.
But McGregor fully expects the 20-year-old, who is set to play alongside him in central midfield in the Qatar 2022 play-off semi-final against Ukraine at Hampden on Wednesday night, to improve as a result of his spell in East Anglia.
“Listen, he’s a young kid and everybody goes through this,” he said. “You come in, you start on fire, you have a little dip and then you come back.
“I watch Billy every day in training and he’s top level. He’s confident with the ball. He can take it under pressure, he can play one or two touch. His performances for Scotland have been first class.
“Everybody has difficult spells in their careers. With Billy, because everyone hyped him so highly at the start, it’s inevitable he’s going to have a dip in form at some point. That’s normal. It’s natural for young players.
“What we have to do as a nation is help him. Give him the confidence and tools to go play. Tell him ‘this is your stage, go enjoy it, we’ll look after you’.
“We have to look after him as experienced pros. But everybody surrounding the country, the press, has got to look after him because he’s a top, top talent.”
McGregor added: “He has a strong mentality, absolutely. You don’t get to this level without being mentally strong and being able to go again every three days with all these big games.
“The situation at Norwich will help him even more as well. You have to face adversity in your career to learn. When it’s all going well it’s brilliant. You think it’s never going to end.
“But then one day, bang! You get a slap in the face and that brings you back down to earth. But that allows you to learn and I’m 100 per cent sure he feels that way too. He’s come in. He’s bright, he’s bubbly and he’s ready to go.
“He has shown a really high level when he has played for Scotland. He has been exceptional and has shown that ability. So this season is maybe a little bit of a blip.
“Circumstances, in terms of the team you are playing in, can kill you a little bit as well. He goes from playing for one of the top teams in the country having the ball every week to going and playing for a team that doesn’t have the ball a lot.
“It becomes difficult, especially for someone like Billy who likes having the ball a lot. He then has to adapt his game and become a little bit more defensive and read the game slightly differently. And then when you get the ball you have to look after it.
“So it is two totally different ends of the spectrum he has been exposed to and I am pretty sure that he will now appreciate having the ball when he plays for the top teams. That maybe didn’t happen so much at Norwich. But that’s a brilliant learning curve for him as well.
“He is a top player and if he comes through this little sticky spell then he will come back again. It happens with all young players. They come in and start off on fire and then have a little blip. The strong ones come back and go again and I’m sure Billy will.”
McGregor and Gilmour have struck up a brilliant partnership in the middle of the park since the latter made his competitive Scotland debut in the Euro 2020 group game against England at Wembley last summer.
“We just play it simple,” he said. “Modern day football is one and two touch all the time. You very rarely see players dribble with ten or 11 touches unless they are trying to break through into the box.
“It’s three touch maximum, especially in midfield where you have to move the ball quickly. He does that and sees the pictures really quickly. He sets you the ball. You play him, he plays you, you play forward and it’s a good balance.”
