Thursday 8 March 2018 10:07, UK
Jose Mourinho was influential in convincing Scott McTominay to turn down England because of his "great affection" for Scotland, according to Craig Brown.
McTominay recently declared his intention to represent Scotland at international level rather than England, despite being born and raised south of the border.
The 21-year-old qualifies for Scotland through his grandparents and Brown believes Mourinho's love for the Scottish, coupled with his desire to beat the English, played a role in McTominay's decision.
"I read somewhere Sir Alex Ferguson was influential in McTominay's decision but the most influential guy will have been Jose Mourinho," former Scotland boss Brown told the Daily Record.
"Mourinho has a great affection for Scotland. He did his coaching badges at Largs and loved his time here. When he started at Chelsea I was at Derby and I met him at a reserve game - in the hamburger queue.
"I was watching the game with the Derby reserve team and I said to him, 'Don't you think you can come to England and beat Alex Ferguson.' Mourinho replied, 'No chance, it's not him or the Scottish I want to beat - it's the English.'
"If the boy had said to Mourinho, 'Scotland or England?' I think Mourinho would have steered him down the Scotland route as he is so well disposed to Scotland. I believe Mourinho would also be supportive of him playing for Scotland.
"It's a massive coup for Alex [McLeish] to land McTominay for Scotland. Pipping England to get a player is just like beating them in a game."
