Scotland announced earlier today that they had appointed Kilmarnock manager Steve Clarke as their new boss. After many unimpressive performances and results, the Tartan Army are about to start all over again. One player how should be in the thoughts of their new national manager is Sunderland’s Chris Maguire.
Sunderland’s Chris Maguire Should be in Steve Clarke’s Thoughts
Excellent Season on Wearside
Chris Maguire has had an excellent start to his career at Sunderland. Barring a fractured leg, he would have run Aiden McGeady very close in the Player of the Year race. Stunning goals, excellent performances and a huge desire and passion to do well have endeared him to Black Cats fans. Awards have never been far away either. The Goal of the Month and Man of the Match awards have been a regular occurrence. Fans have been so impressed with their summer signing he has been given the title of “The King”.
International Past
Maguire featured for his country at U16 and U19 levels before making a big impression at U21 level. He played a huge role in Scotland’s U21 qualifying campaign for the European Championships, scoring four goals in eight games. However, this was not enough for a automatic qualifying position.
In the play-off against Iceland, Maguire scored a stunning goal from the halfway line. Sadly for him and his country, it was not enough to get the Scots to the finals. Maguire went on to play for the senior national team on two occasions, the last being in 2011 against the Republic of Ireland in a 1-0 defeat.
Chris Maguire is Just What Scotland Need
Scotland are in desperate need of someone to bring some passion onto the field of play. The national side have endured a tough time of late, especially during their qualifiers for the European Championships. A disastrous 3-0 defeat in Kazakhstan was labelled as the worst performance in the history of the national side, while an unconvincing 2-0 victory against the world’s lowest-ranked side, San Marino, followed.
Maguire, who has been overlooked by the national side for eight years, could be a player, along with others, who could bring some joy back to the Scottish fans. Maguire has played some of his best football of his career at Sunderland, earning many plaudits and awards. Although Maguire is currently playing in League One, a return to the national side should not be out of the question for this talented and passionate forward.
Enjoys the Big Games and Crowds
One of the reasons Maguire came to Sunderland was to play in front of large crowds and to play in big games. Important games certainly seem to bring the best out of Maguire. His cameo in the play-off semi-final against Portsmouth resulted in a stunning winning goal and a Man of the Match award. He only entered the field of play during the second half. He is also about to be involved in another huge game, the League One play-off final at Wembley.
“You’ve got to be professional,” Maguire told Chronicle Live. “Yeah, I want to start every game but when you don’t you want to come on and make a point to say that I want to be in the team and hopefully I’ve done that.”
On the upcoming Wembley fixture, Maguire added: “It’s games like this you live for. Every footballer wants to be involved in games like this and there’s no better way to do it (win promotion) than the play-offs. If you can win them, it’s a great occasion.”
Main Photo
