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Gunn delighted to nail his colours to the mast after hearing Clarke’s sales pitch

By JOHN McGARRY

BORN and raised in Norfolk, Angus Gunn never felt any need to explain his ambition of playing for England one day. It was as natural as breathing clean air.

Called upon at every age group from Under-16s to Under-21s, a late shout to the squad that was due to face Brazil in 2017 preceded an invite to a pre-World Cup training camp the following summer.

With full honours for the Three Lions so tantalisingly close, an invitation by then Scotland manager Alex McLeish to switch allegiances was politely declined. Given his reputation as one of the best goalkeeping talents in England at that time, perhaps understandably so. So what changed to get us to the point where Gunn is now in the frame to face Cyprus and Spain at the outset of the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign?

In simple terms, his club career unexpectedly stalled. Having largely been a back-up to Alex McCarthy for two years at Southampton, he went on loan to Stoke in search of regular football and found it hard to come by.

The same applied to his first season at Norwich after he completed a permanent move there in 2021.

This year’s been a different story. Tim Krul is now sitting on the bench most weeks with Gunn the man in possession of the gloves.

Yet talk of that elusive England cap hasn’t been heard for a good while. Those who feel that the 27-year-old has only now agreed to play for Scotland because he has no choice in the matter are probably correct. But that’s not to say that Gunn doesn’t feel hugely privileged to have finally answered the call and to now be in contention to follow in the footsteps of his father Bryan. There is no sense of

awkwardness about how this has eventually all come about. Just a sense of pride that it has.

‘Obviously as a player it’s something you want, to make your family proud,’ Gunn said.

‘To see that reaction from them was great. The Scottish side of my family have all been asking for tickets for the game.

‘For me that’s a big thing and I’m looking forward to seeing them all here and hopefully making them all really proud.

‘To hear the national anthem, I think will put the hairs on the back of my neck up. I’m looking forward to the atmosphere but I think the most important thing is focusing on the game and getting the three points.’

For long enough, the prospect of playing for any nation at this level was not at the forefront of his thoughts.

‘It’s something that’s been there for the last four or five years at the back of my mind,’ he added.

‘But in myself I didn’t really think I could justify getting picked for a national team when I wasn’t playing regular football. So I think when I started playing regularly at Norwich it became something I started thinking about.

‘It was something I wanted to do to further my career and push myself even more.’

Steve Clarke would probably have made a trip to Norwich in any event at the turn of the year but the double leg break Craig Gordon sustained at Tannadice on Christmas Eve meant there was more riding on it.

This time, having used all of his powers of persuasion, a Scotland manager would get to hear the answer he desired.

‘It was a couple of months ago now,’ Gunn recalled.

‘I think he just wanted to come down and have a conversation. ‘It was pretty chilled, to be honest. ‘We had a good chat about football in general and then he obviously went on to Scotland.

‘He just told me about the group and how positive it is, which I had already heard from people like Kenny McLean and Grant Hanley at the club. So I already knew that.

‘He just laid it out to me and said he wanted me to come and be involved, saying he saw a good future with me with Scotland.

‘I didn’t tell him straight away, but I knew straight away in my mind that it was something I wanted to do.

‘I think I called him the next day to let him know and ever since then I’ve been excited and looking forward to this moment.

‘Kenny and Grant have spoken to me a lot about it in the past.

‘They have always been pushing me to come over. When they found out they were delighted and hopefully we can all have a successful time.’

Given that Bryan Gunn was playing in an era when Jim Leighton and Andy Goram were vying for the number one jersey, the six caps he won back then were commendable.

With Allan McGregor and David Marshall both retired from international football and Gordon currently sidelined and the wrong side of 40, this does feel like an opportunity for the current Norwich keeper to establish himself.

His father, originally from Thurso, would certainly approve.

‘Just generally, as a parent, at the start he was always there,’ Gunn said.

‘He finished his career pretty early, just a few years after I was born.

‘He was always able to be there as I was growing up and playing football.

‘He used to take me down to the Norwich Academy when I was younger and watch every game.

‘Originally I wanted to play outfield, when I was five or six.

‘I went to a trial at Norwich and somehow ended up in goal.

‘Since then he’s pushed me to go for it. So hopefully I can make them all proud.’

I didn’t tell him straight away but I knew it was something I wanted to do

Euro 2024

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2023-03-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

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