Hanley has been doing it for a while. Before the doubleheader between Scotland’s Croatia and Portugal in mid-October, he was playing against the Derby, who lost two minutes of club football in the past six weeks 3-2.
He played 90 against Croatia in a 2-1 loss and another 90 against Portugal in a 0-0 draw. It was Portugal with Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Jota, Bruno Fernandez and Francesco Concicao. Many of them couldn’t reveal him.
Then it went back to the wilderness. Preparation for the November doubleheader against Poland and Croatia was in 15 minutes in a 2-1 defeat by Cardiff, the only football they played in a month.
Scotland defeated Croatia 1-0 and Poland 2-1. Hanley played every minute. Big, bold, hungry like hell.
Hanley is 33 and has every reason to believe that with his struggles with club football, he is running out of time.
But he clearly doesn’t believe it. He remains in the fight. He is in the fight.
Clark loves players with strength and tenacity, players who endure setbacks but refused buckle, players who were amortized but always come back.
It’s no wonder he maintains his faith in Hanley despite the lack of football on his feet.
He’s not thinking about a perfect centre-back. He removes it from the defense and does not remove it from the spray pass. He does not surprise a single soul with his technical excellence. He has a mistake.
But in the bottle business, he’s there. He throbbs a bit when it comes to mental indomitable points.
He may have been a few inches away from giving that penalty later in Thursday’s game, but the great survivor survived. And there was justice in it.
