'We've been building towards this': McGregor hails Scotland progress

The midfielder says the 2-0 win over Spain ranks "at the top" of results under Steve Clarke.

Scotland midfielder Callum McGregor says victory over Spain has been the team’s best result under Steve Clarke and was a performance the team had been building towards.

Scott McTominay scored twice as Scotland rocked the top seeds in the Euro 2024 qualifying group and ensured a perfect start to the campaign with six points from the first two qualifiers.

The result is a huge boost for the team’s hopes of reaching the finals in Germany next year but McGregor also feels it delivers a statement win that the team has been looking for.

Asked where the win ranked in terms of results since Clarke took charge of the team in 2019, the midfielder couldn’t see any other game that matched it.

“It’s probably right at the top,” he said. “That’s the one that’s been coming is against a big nation. Probably the way that we played as well, really comfortable in the game, carried out the game plan excellently. So that should give us a lot of confidence moving forward.

“It’s a result that we’ve been looking to pick up for a while. When you get more experience in the group and boys start to get more caps, you start to feel better at this level.

“That’s what we have now is a really strong core with a lot of caps and a lot of experience. We’ve been sort of building towards a result like this.

“It’s important that we take the positives and we keep our feet on the ground. By no means have we qualified but it’s a great night. Hopefully the supporters enjoyed it and hopefully the nation enjoyed it.”

The victory was the first against Spain since 1984 and the last time the teams met at Hampden, 13 years ago, the visitors came out on top in a five goal thriller. McGregor was part of the Tartan Army that night and takes pride in helping the support enjoy a winning feeling this time around.

“It’s brilliant,” he said. “As a young kid, I watched the last one here in 2010 or 2011. I was in the stands watching it and we nearly got a result that night, but to be on the bench and deliver a result for the supporters and the nation is fantastic.

“It’s something that we’re all really proud of.”

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