Brian McClair: Ben Doak Is The Player Scotland Have Been Looking For

Former Manchester United and Celtic great Brian McClair is tipping Ben Doak to be Scottish football’s next superstar and could even go on to replace one of English football’s greatest goalscorers.

The 19-year-old winger is currently enjoying a season-long loan at Championship side Middlesbrough and delivered standout performances in Scotland’s recent victories over Croatia and Poland in the Nations League.

And with doubts surrounding Mo Salah’s future in English football, McClair believes that Doak – a promising talent from Dalry in Ayrshire who began his career at Celtic – could be the answer to replacing the talismanic Egyptian at Anfield.

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McClair, previously Head of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) and former performance director, said: “He is a player that the Scottish people have been looking for, in the sense of what they want to see the team play like.

“He has got the pace and the skill. So he’s got the pace to run in behind, and he’s got the pace running with the ball and a bit of skill to give his opponent a difficult time in a one-on-one situation. 

“He’s settled very well into the international game considering how young he is, and the number of games that he’s actually played at the highest level, so he’s certainly not done himself any harm when it comes to international football. 

“Of course, there’s been plenty of chat around him being the successor to Mo Salah, should Salah decide that Merseyside is no longer his home with regards to his football. 

“It might be a bit too early to suggest he’s at the level that Salah has been at, but he looks a very good prospect, and it’s worked well for him being out on loan at Middlesbrough. 

“He’s done very well, and he’s shown no fear. I suppose that’s part of being young – young players tend to have so little fear.”

Scotland secured a Nations League group A1 play-off thanks to a 1-0 win at Hampden against Croatia and then a smash-and-grab 2-1 victory over Poland thanks to a late header from Andy Robertson.

And speaking exclusively to Gambling.com, McClair said: “In the last couple of games Doak has done very well. 

“He had a good game the other night at Hampden against Croatia and continued that with his assist for John McGinn in Scotland’s first goal in Poland.

“I think that Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay, who are now teammates in Naples, are now showing that they can play against the best players in international football and make an impression on the team and on their opponents.”

Steve Clarke’s side knew it was win or bust in Warsaw as they looked for back-to-back victories to at least earn them third spot in Group A1 and a relegation play-off.

And Roberton’s stoppage-time winner secured Scotland a Nations League relegation lifeline.

They now have a two-legged relegation play-off to look forward to in March against one of the runners-up from the second tier after taking seven points from their last three games and McClair believes Clarke is doing a fine job ahead of qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

“I think the performances have been good,” he said. They’ve certainly been improving since the summer, but the results up until the last three games didn’t mirror those efforts and those performances.

“The last three Nations League games, they’ve had the luck that they didn’t have in the previous games. Getting a very good point against the Portuguese at Hampden Park, and then being fortunate in the game at Hampden against Croatia.

“Then Scotland got the fortune that I think their endeavour deserved, with a 93rd minute goal from their captain.”

Clarke signed a contract extension in 2023 remain Scotland head coach until 2026, saying he believes he has become a better “person-to-person” manager.

The 60-year-old took over from Alex McLeish in 2019 and led the side to the Euro 2020 finals.

And though he will be trying to lead his side to the World Cup finals for the first time since 1998, McClair feels there is plenty of talent available to manage the national side in the future.

“I think that Scotland has got good enough candidates if Steve Clarke decided that he no longer wanted to be the coach of Scotland, or indeed the SFA decided that they wanted a change,” he said.

“Scot Gemmill who has been coaching now for the under-21s for a long time has got great experience when it comes to international competition. 

“Also, a lot of those players who are probably in the full squad now, he would have had them in the under-21s. He knows them, how they can play and who they are. I think these are things that are important. 

“I like the idea of what the English were trying to do, in the sense of promoting from within and trying to grow their own coaches that can go on to be an international manager, as international management is very different from managing in the top leagues. 

“There’s a lot of different things going on and I think that it would be great for the coaches and the coach education system in Scotland, if there was an appetite to give Gemmill the job as the main coach. 

“What I’d also be expecting would be one or two experienced people alongside him. Not necessarily to be hugely influential in picking the players, but there to help a young manager with their experience and their advice. 

“I think David Moyes would be someone that the SFA would always be interested in and he might enjoy being away from the rigours of managing in the top divisions and instead managing his own country.”