Uncapped, but Rochdale’s Jim McNulty hopes to stifle Scots heartbreaker Harry Kane

JIM MCNULTY has long since given up hope of a Scotland call-up.

But the Rochdale stopper still aims to boost his tartan credentials today by shackling Hampden heartbreaker Harry Kane.

Thanks to his Scottish mother, Cheshire-born McNulty starred for Scotland’s Under-17 and Under-19 sides as a kid after coming through Everton’s youth set-up.

He shared the young Scots’ dressing room with the likes of David Marshall and Ross Wallace, both of whom went on to storied careers and full international recognition.

McNulty’s nod never came. Jim missed out on a cap and that’s something the 33-year-old is comfortable with these days.

But ahead of facing Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup, he admits he would have loved to have collected a Scotland cap somewhere along the way.

“I think that ship has sailed to be honest,” he joked when asked whether a strong showing against Spurs might tempt new Scotland boss Alex McLeish to pick up the phone.

“But there was a time when I had some genuine belief that it might happen.

“I had a good season in my first year at Barnsley in the Championship, in 2011, and ended up being named player of the year and made captain of the club.

“At the time, Scotland were having a bit of a defender crisis, and there was an opportunity there.

“I actually thought, ‘My name might come out of the hat here.’ But they ended up choosing a couple of guys who were playing in League One at the time ahead of me.

“That was a bit of a disappointment.

“Gary MacKenzie, who was playing at MK Dons, was one of the guys that was called up, and I remember being devastated.

“But that’s gone now. I turned 33 the other day and I’m happy with the youth caps!”

McNulty has spent his career bouncing from League Two, up to the Championship, then back to League One.

But the big defender’s Scottish connection meant he had the chance to ply his trade north of the border on more than one occasion.

That’s something he still hasn’t ruled out, thanks to positive reports from two of his closest football mates.

“There were multiple times in my career, when I got my more ‘headline’ moves, to Brighton and to Barnsley, that there was interest from Scottish clubs,” he continued.

“Financially and geographically, the moves down here were always better at the time.

“But, being honest, it’s not something I’ve ever ruled out – even to this day.

“Myself and my father have often talked about it. I still quite fancy a pop at it up there at some point. But who knows what will be? One of my best friends in the game is up there now – Gary Dicker at Kilmarnock, and he’s really enjoying himself.

“They’re doing really well under Steve Clarke and Gary is singing his praises as a manager, as is another friend of mine, Gordon Greer.

“I know Gordon from my time at Brighton and he tells me Steve Clarke is a brilliant coach, so they’re both happy campers at the moment.”

Rochdale isn’t quite such a happy camp.

Currently bottom of League One, 11 points from safety, McNulty is enduring a rotten spell with his Dale teammates.

He insists facing Spurs today – with their big guns waiting in the wings – will come as a welcome break from the pressures of fighting relegation.

And the performance of Newport County in the previous round, who took Mauricio Pochettino’s millionaires to a replay, has given McNulty hope. “It genuinely has,” he said.

“We had a meeting on Friday about it and talked about how having to go to a replay in the last round might prod Spurs into putting the big guns out.

“But we’ve looked at some phases of play from that game and we believe that we can do what Newport did and maybe finish a few chances that they missed out on.

“We’ll need a lot of luck on the day, of course, but there’s no pressure on us and we’ll enjoy it.

“If Harry Kane plays, I’ll be calling on all the experience I have of playing either with or against top players in my career.

“He’s got everything as a striker, he’s unbelievable.

“I know he broke Scotland’s hearts in June – I couldn’t believe it when that happened to be honest!

“But if I do play against him it’ll be nice to know the Scottish fans are on my side!”