The Tigers’ chief has also discussed Kyle Joseph being overlooked, too
Oli McBurnie and Kyle Joseph have 33 goal involvements between them this season(Image: Greig Cowie/Shutterstock)
Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic admits he’s surprised neither Oli McBurnie nor Kyle Joseph has been called into the latest Scotland squad by Steve Clarke.
No Scotland striker has scored more than the 14 goals McBurnie has this season, while Joseph netted his eighth of an increasingly productive campaign in the 3-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday last weekend.
Clarke once again overlooked McBurnie, who hasn’t been in the Tartan Army setup for five years, and though he’s again on the reserve list, hasn’t made it in.
Joseph has played for Scotland at various youth levels without ever representing the national team at senior level. His goal return in the second tier is competitive against the likes of Che Adams, Lyndon Dykes and Tommy Conway, all of whom are regulars under Clarke.
The Two City strikers have notched up an impressive 33 goal involvements (goals and assists) between them this season, helping the Tigers maintain a promotion push towards the Premier League.
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“I’m very surprised,” Jakirovic confessed when asked about McBurnie’s continued omission. “I don’t know where the problem is there. I don’t know, I’m not so involved, I’m just looking at the statistics.
“I’m watching just statistics, and Oli McBurnie has scored more goals than other strikers (in the squad), so this is a fact. I’m not the national team coach, so I don’t know what his idea is.
“Just a little. He’s ready. He’s now on the reserve list, so he’s there. I think that he showed everything on the pitch. He proved everything on the pitch. If he hadn’t had this injury for six weeks, he would have more goals.”
On Joseph quietly going about his business this season, the Tigers chief added, “I’m not the national team coach of Scotland. Maybe he has a better player (than Joseph)? It’s his decision. We must respect his decision, so they will try to prove every game that they deserve to be there.”
The Tigers have eight players away on international duty, and Jakirovic says it’s a great source of pride for the club as a whole to have so many involved with big games over this break.
Naturally, given City’s injury worries throughout the campaign, his biggest wish is that they all return without any injuries and ready to play their part in the run-in.
“Yes, of course, we are very proud of our players because they deserve this invitation because of their performance on the pitch. I just wish that they come back healthy, and this is the most important thing. We will see how many minutes they will get. I will be watching, I watch every game if I can.”
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