Redeemed Fletcher enjoys historic Scotland hat-trick

In football, the tone and topic of conversation can change very quickly. Just ask Steven Fletcher. The Scotland striker went into today's UEFA EURO 2016 qualifier against Gibraltar amid a debate about whether he should be playing at all.

Fletcher is enduring a torrid season with Sunderland AFC and had been faring little better for his country. Lining up at Hampden, the 28-year-old was certainly all too aware that six years had passed since his one and only national-team goal.

Fast forward 90 minutes, though, and Fletcher was looking at statistics and scrutiny that could not have contrasted more starkly. Not only had the drought ended in a 6-1 Group D win; the former Hibernian FC forward had made history, becoming the first Scot in almost half a century to score an international hat-trick. Fletcher could not suppress a smile as he clutched both the game ball and a well-earned man of match award.

"That's been a long time coming," he told UEFA.com. "I feel my game's about more than goals but you know as a striker that people don't judge you on how many times you link up play, but on how many you score. So I was conscious of the fact it had been so long. That said, my confidence genuinely hasn't been dented. You just enjoy these days when they come along, and they don't come much better than scoring a hat-trick for your country.

"I only realised after the match that I'm the first Scottish player to do that in so long [since 1969 when Colin Stein scored four in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Cyprus]. That was a shock. I wondered if Shaun [Maloney, who scored twice in the first half] might get there first, but a few of the lads came up after my second and said: 'Go on, make sure you get the match ball.'"

Fletcher accepts that, even now, there will be those who detract from his treble with cynical references to Scotland's opposition. Not that he will be paying any heed. "Gibraltar made life very difficult for us and played well, especially in defence," he said. "You'd have seen from my celebrations how much the goals meant to me, especially the first. That seemed to take an age to go in."

If relief and happiness were Fletcher's overriding emotions, there was gratitude too. After all, while the critics circled and pushed the claims of his rivals, the out-of-form No9 benefited from the faith and patience of manager Gordon Strachan.

"It meant a lot that he stuck with me, but that's the way he is," said the ex-Burnley FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC man, whose efforts helped keep Scotland in the mix at the top of Group D. "The gaffer's made a point of standing by the guys who've got us to this position and saying that, whatever anyone else says, he knows we're good players. I'm delighted to have repaid a bit of that faith."