You know you’ve cracked it with Scotland when you’ve got your own song .John McGinn, Scott McTominay, Lyndon Dykes… they’ve all got one.
But Ben Doak’s very own chant has come earlier than most. He has become a Tartan Army favourite overnight with his electric displays. The 2-1 victory in Poland means they can now look forward to a play-off tie in March to stay in the top tier. Wherever the fans go for the first leg, they will be singing about him but the Liverpool kid – on loan at Middlesbrough – is taking the adulation in his stride.
Asked about a video of fans singing the song, Doak said: “I got sent it before the Poland game. It’s quite a good chant, it’s decent. It’s lovely to see all of that but I’m just focused on the games and doing what I can for the team. I’m taking it game by game, that’s all I can do and it’s the best way.
“If you start looking two, three, four games ahead, you end up not performing as well as you could in the next one. It’s one game at a time and hopefully I can keep producing some numbers.”
After another impressive performance in Poland, it seems incredible that gaffer Steve Clarke floated the idea of resting Doak. He said: “Of course I was ready to go. I’m ready to play any game of football I’m available for. I was just happy to see my name on the team sheet on Monday.”
On the fans’ clamour for him to be in the starting XI, he added: “I’m not really aware of it. I just figure that any time I get picked for the national team, I play my football and do my best.
“If I get a positive reaction from it, then great, but it’s not really that important. I just need to do my job and hope everyone else does theirs. Poland was a tough game, like basketball at times, proper end to end.
“That’s probably why I was taken off in the second half – I was a bit leggy. The gaffer thought it was time to freshen it up and it worked out in the end.
“The result was credit to everyone. We’ve had tough games and didn’t get the results we deserved.”
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