Ally McCoist made no attempt to hide his admiration for on-loan Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour.
As quoted by The Herald, McCoist turned into an excited fan whilst speaking about his fellow compatriot.
Sparkle of the Scottish eye
Those with close connections to the Scottish national side certainly hold Gilmour in the highest regard.
The 20-year-old is widely recognised as the future of Steve Clarke’s team, a theory supported by his performances on the international stage.
Since being called up to the senior squad for the first time ahead of last summer’s European Championships, Clarke’s men have only lost once with the Chelsea academy product involved.
They lost two of the three group games at the Euros, but perhaps uncoincidentally, Gilmour didn’t feature in either defeat.
He sat on the bench for the opening fixture, then helped the Scots to keep England at bay, before contracting coronavirus and missing the last match against Croatia.
After the tournament, Scotland went on a fantastic six-game winning streak to help them secure a play-off place for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Unsurprisingly, Gilmour started each of the half dozen victories, double the number of times he’s won with Norwich City this season.
Not so good at Norwich
It’s fair to say he has enjoyed more success with his country than club in the past 12 months.
After leaving Chelsea on loan at the beginning of the campaign, things have sadly gone pretty downhill on the domestic stage for the youngster.
Norwich are on the periphery of Premier League relegation, something no player wants on their CV.
Especially after they’ve just left the European champions in search of more minutes.
However, McCoist insisted that demotion to the second division should not define Gilmour’s fledgling career.
“I’m a massive Billy Gilmour fan,” said the talkSPORT pundit.
“I’ve known Billy for a long, long time – I’ve just been absolutely delighted to watch his progress coming through.
“He’s going to be a top player, he really is. There was a little period when he went to Norwich and people thought the move wasn’t beneficial to him or Norwich.
“He wasn’t playing for a period as well, but he’s absolutely top-class.
“Of course, the lads at Norwich are struggling but the Premier League is the best league in the world.
“The fact of the matter is that Billy is competing in the best league in the world and playing against the best players.”
Whatever happens to Gilmour once his contract with the Canaries expires, hopefully he can use his experiences for the best.
We are keeping our fingers crossed to see you in a Chelsea shirt again soon, Billy.
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