Having helped keep West Brom up by selling Darren Fletcher on a move to the Hawthorns, James Morrison is now hoping to land a Euros dividend with Scotland.
Eight years an international team-mate of Fletcher’s, Morrison made the connection count back in January when he heard his friend was ready to leave Manchester United.
With West Ham poised with a counter offer, he intervened of his club’s behalf to persuade the midfielder that Albion were a better bet.
His persistence paid off with Fletcher’s arrival coinciding with a stunning upturn in the Baggies’ fortunes, which saw them beat both Chelsea and Manchester United, plus draw with Liverpool, to guarantee their Premier League safety.
And having watched the new signing play every minute of those three games, Morrison believes he is more than capable of making a similar contribution when Scotland tackle the Republic of Ireland in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
“Darren was a really big help to us at West Brom this year and I was pleased because I pestered him to come. I should charge the club a little fee,” he said with a laugh.
“You just know if you give him the ball that he is going to keep it, and you know where he is going to be defensively.
“Plus with the experience he has of playing at United under Sir Alex Ferguson. He has also been a real leader off the pitch.
“He is just as influential with Scotland. We became friends the first week I was with the country.
“We figured out what each other was about and bonded straight away. Even when he was out for so long we stayed in regular contact.
“Now he is back with us and that is great because we know the Ireland match is going to be really intense.”
Shaun Maloney’s goal helped Scotland come out on the top in the reverse fixture, back in November, and a similar outcome would go a long way to helping the country book a place in their first major Finals since 1998
“I missed the last game because I got ill,” said Morrison.
“I had to watch it on my phone, which wasn’t nice at all. It was tight and physical and I was more nervous watching than if I had been involved in the game. But happily the lads did a great job.
“This time the pressure is on them rather than us. It will be about keeping a cool head and making sure no-one does anything that would harm the team effort, such as getting sent off.”
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