Charlie Nicholas slates Billy Gilmour as he suspects Chelsea star is 'the next Barry Bannan'

Charlie Nicholas insists Billy Gilmour is no Scotland saviour and reckons the Chelsea youngster could be "the next Barry Bannan".

The pundit singled the 20-year-old out for stinging criticism following last week's World Cup play-off semi-final defeat to Ukraine.

Nicholas insists Gilmour offered nothing but "square passes" and says he has to do more.

Steve Clarke 's side were poor all-round in a 3-1 defeat at Hampden, one that extends the wait for a World Cup appearance beyond 24 years.

Gilmour has been widely lauded as one of the nation's top future prospects but Nicholas suspects he could go the way of another diminutive midfielder in Bannan.

Nicholas wrote in the Scottish Daily Express: "Billy Gilmour is a talented player but if he is not careful he could end up becoming the next Barry Bannan.

Get all the latest Sports news sent straight to your Inbox every day by signing up to our newsletter.

We cover every morsel of information regarding your favourite club in the form of articles, videos and podcasts.

The newsletter will arrive every day at 12pm, giving you a round up of the best stories we've covered that in the last 24 hours.

To sign up, simply enter your email address into the link here.

And if you aren't already, make sure you join the conversation over on our Facebook groups and Record Sport Instagram.

"Gilmour is a tidy footballer but he has to offer more and we need to stop making him out to be our saviour. He struggled in the play-off because he didn't get on the ball enough - and when he did it was square pass, square pass.

"Let's hope he can make a greater impact than Bannan - another physically small midfelder who did OK for a few seasons but failed to hit the heights everyone hoped."

Nicholas also