Roxburgh tries to take pressure off Fletcher

UEFA’S Technical Director Andy Roxburgh refused to put pressure on Scotland’s bright new hope Darren Fletcher by comparing him with former international stars.

The 20-year-old Manchester United midfielder has recently burst onto the international stage and was outstanding for Berti Vogts’ side in their 4-1 win over Trinidad & Tobago at the weekend.

However, the former Scotland boss, talking at the launch of Hearts’ impressive new football academy which will be shared with Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh, insists comparisons with former superstars like Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness could only be counter-productive for the youngster.

He said: “I think it’s daft sometimes to link a modern boy with an old star because you put a burden on them in a way.

“What I would say is that this is a boy with the potential to be a great international player for Scotland.

“I find it hard to compare him with anyone. He sees the game very well and he passes very well.

“There’s been a lot of players in Scotland who were really good passers of the ball like Dalglish, Souness and others like Gordon Strachan.

“But the boy has an elegance about him by the way he moves and how he tries to simplify the game and that’s what good players do.”

What Roxburgh is wary about is putting to much pressure on Fletcher.

“The big danger with a young player like that is that people put too much weight on his shoulders,” he said.

“At Manchester United he’s just another one of their good players. The problem is that saying to him: ‘You’re the man. You’re Scotland’s number one’ is incredible pressure to put on the boy.

“But when you’re trying to rebuild you’re looking for signs and he’s a very positive sign.”

Hearts head coach Craig Levein joked that the Tynecastle side’s new state-of-the-art training facilities mean he no longer has to hide the fact that the Gorgie club had no proper place to train from potential new signings.

He said: “Nobody in their right mind would show them the schools where we used to train.

“We took them to Tynecastle and showed them that and then showed them round Edinburgh and it was a dawdle!

“When you sign any players you want them to see the best of things and then afterwards, once you’ve signed them, then tough! But we will show players this place.”

Hearts used the new training complex intermittently towards the end of last season and Levein claims the benefits can already be seen.

He said: “The players are noticeably in at training earlier and they are on the training field longer, which is a great sign.

“The players themselves see this place as a feather in their cap, to be only the second club in Scotland to have something like it.

“And as a player it makes you feel a little bit special from the point of view that you have something that other people don’t have.”