O’Donnell thanks Robertson for support after fan criticism
Stephen O’Donnell opened up on the criticism he received after his performance against the Czech Republic in Scotland’s Euro 2020 opener, thanking Andy Robertson and the rest of his teammates for their support.
The Motherwell defender answered his critics last night after an excellent performance for Scotland in their 0-0 draw against England at Wembley.
Speaking to the BBC after the match, the right-back opened up on the criticism he has received on social media and the backing he has received from his international companions.
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After Monday’s loss to the Czech’s, some fans were calling for O’Donnell to be dropped, but Steve Clarke stuck by him and rated the 29-year-old as his man of the match against the Three Lions.
Speaking about the criticism he has received, O’Donnell said: “I think what is frustrating in society now see everything, it’s hard to get away from it.
“It makes a massive difference when you’ve got a manager who believes in you.
“He constantly comes under attack for selecting me. I’m not saying the players aren’t good enough to play – you saw Billy Gilmour come in and he’s an outstanding young talent – and all these young boys are nothing but good for the future of Scotland, but he gets lambasted.
“Could I have been better against Czech Republic? Yeah.
“Could the team have been better? Yeah. But we still had a lot of chances.
“I’ve had praise now but that will quickly change against Croatia.
“It means a lot to me that the team were all [coming] up to me after the game.
“They know the stick I received and I appreciate the support that they’ve given me.
“Andy Robertson, especially, with a couple of words he said.
“It’s tough. At 29 you think it’s easy, but this is all new to all of us and I’m just glad I was able to repay, most importantly, the manager.
“The rest of it is noise; you try to block it out but it is difficult.
“Hopefully I was able to do my manager and all my friends and family back home proud.”
Scotland’s final Group D match is against Croatia at Hampden Park, where a win should be enough to take them into the knockout stages at a major tournament for the first time in their history.
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