Scotland endured a long wait for a player like Oli McBurnie. A £20m striker, deeply passionate about international service and unwilling to take himself too seriously, should, in theory, be lauded by the Tartan Army. Instead the mere mention of McBurnie’s name now triggers grumbling. After nine full caps, the Sheffield United man appears constantly under pressure when pulling on navy blue.
People have long asked McBurnie why he bothers with the deviation from club responsibilities. “The thought [of not playing] has never entered my head,” he says. “It’s the biggest honour, international football is the pinnacle. I have worked so hard to be able to represent my country. To throw it all away because a few people have said some bad things? That’s not in my brain at all.”
McBurnie appears the victim of mis- and preconceptions. One would be that he vehemently objects to sniping directed his way. “I’ve been a pro since I was 16, I’ve had my fair share of criticism and positivity,” he says. “You have to take both with a pinch of salt. I know the way Scotland is. I have put myself out there and I’m a bit of an easy target. I get myself into some silly situations by not really thinking and that’s just me as a person. I am what I am, I don’t try to pretend to be anything that I’m not.
“I’ve seen the criticism and it’s a regret for me that I haven’t put in my best performances when in a Scotland shirt but I really want to change that. A lot of the criticism is warranted but then you get the stuff that maybe isn’t. I have to take that; I’m a footballer, it’s part of my job. When things are going well and everyone is saying nice things, I don’t take too much notice of that either.”
When Steve Clarke speaks, McBurnie stands to attention. Scotland’s manager will preside over the biggest game of his tenure on Thursday when Israel visit Hampden Park. Scotland sit two games from the European Championship. “A finals appearance is long overdue and we have the ability in this team,” McBurnie says. “There is no excuse, especially with the position we have put ourselves in now.
“Steve has backed me the whole way. I know how many times he watched me last season, taking a real interest in my development. I can’t speak highly enough of him. It’s time for me to repay his faith and confidence.”
McBurnie appeared 16 times for Scottish age-group teams, belying any sense that a player born and brought up in Leeds would travel north under duress. McBurnie’s father, Neil, is Glaswegian and a staunch Scotland supporter. The apple didn’t fall far from that particular tree. “It was only when I got to about 14, people started saying: ‘You have a broad Yorkshire accent, why are you so devoted to Scotland?’” McBurnie says. “Me and my little brother used to go to school with Scotland shirts on when England were playing in a World Cup, we had our faces painted with Scotland flags. That’s just the way it was.
“I have always considered myself Scottish, I was always told I was Scottish. It never really was a choice for me as in Scotland-England because it was always Scotland. As soon as the Scottish FA got in touch to go to a youth training camp, it was really exciting. My Under-19 debut against Holland was a really proud moment and something I’ll always remember.
“My dad is proud of all my accomplishments in football but especially my senior debut at Hampden. He was there and I think for my dad, my grandma and all that side of my family it’s their proudest one.”
So why the background noise? There are multiple explanations. A 2019 video released by Sheffield United’s media team showed McBurnie being disparaging about the prospect of joining a Scotland squad. “I spoke to Robbo [Andy Robertson, the Scotland captain] straight after that came out, asking what to do,” he says. “He said: ‘Listen, all the boys know you.’ I don’t get anything for playing for Scotland; bonuses, money, anything like that. The only reason I do it is because I want to play. If I didn’t want to, I just wouldn’t. My heart is in it, my head is in it, all I want to do is help my country. I want to please the fans but having the respect and admiration of my teammates and manager is enough for me.”
A year on, social media exploded after McBurnie was left out of Clarke’s Scotland squad for matches against Israel and the Czech Republic. He duly appeared for 45 minutes of a club friendly during the international break. After stepping on glass during the close season, McBurnie hadn’t trained. “Chris Wilder spoke to Steve Clarke and said I was not in a condition to play,” he says. “They were on the same page, it was absolutely fine.”
With Lys Mousset pulling up in the friendly against Derby, Wilder turned to McBurnie. “I could already see the headlines as I was warning up to come on,” he says. “Anyone in football understands that 45 minutes of a pre-season game after not training at all is a world away from an international game. It was a big thing over nothing, which people used as a stick to beat me with.
“It’s more my dad and family that take notice, even though I always tell them not to. They are so proud and I couldn’t do anything wrong in their eyes so when they see stuff they don’t like, of course it hurts them.”
There are other factors. McBurnie describes his play as “love or hate”. He is openly a Rangers fan. “A lot of people are more cute about the teams they support,” he says. “It’s a lot easier for me playing in England than if I was in Scotland. It is what it is – I’m an open book. I’m not going to pretend. You find a lot of Celtic fans are quick to jump in when it comes to criticism but it’s me who has put myself out there.”
Fancy cars and designer slippers seem to antagonise onlookers, as if McBurnie is any different from others in a generation afforded the Premier League’s riches. “Unfortunately people don’t like to see others doing well; they can be envious,” he says. “I’m open in terms of social media, I try to interact with fans. A lot of people appreciate that I’m just a 24-year-old kid living his dream and enjoying myself. I’m just a kid from a working-class home in Leeds who is doing well and wants to get even better.
“If people in Scotland say: ‘He is worth this [fee], he needs to come and do it on the international stage’ it’s fair enough. It’s one of the things I’m looking to put right, my form in the Scotland team.”
Thursday provides an opportune time.
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