Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Scotland could be in for a tough time
I’VE been trying to come up with ways for Scotland to beat England on Friday.
And the best plan I can suggest for Wembley is we try to sneak an extra couple of players on the pitch.
Because, seriously, I really don’t have a good feeling about this game.
The only thing that gives me any hope is the fact the English have been in turmoil because of their coaching debacle.
Sam Allardyce has left in disgrace, Gareth Southgate is in on an interim basis but he doesn’t seem to want the job in permanently and I’m not sure they want him for more than a caretaker period.
That’s got to lead to a degree of uncertainty in their dressing-room.
But the big problem for me is, when you look at the players in their dressing-room, they are much better than the ones in Gordon Strachan’s.
England took a lot of stick for failing in the Euros last summer and they do tend to blow up when it comes to major finals.
But in qualifying campaigns their record is right up their with the very best.
They won all their games to get to the Euros and are already top of this World Cup group.
That’s because they have good players and I wasn’t happy to see one of them, Harry Kane, return to action for Spurs on Sunday after injury.
After being out for a while, he won’t be 100% fit but he’s a top player and having him back for this one will be a boost.
And I’m not sure Scotland’s chances have been improved any by Scott Brown’s return to the squad.
He’s struggling with an injury but, even if he makes it, I think coming out of retirement could be unsettling.
It looks a bit like he can pick and choose his games and even if that’s not actually the case, some of the other players might be uneasy about his return.
And I have to say, even if he’s fit, I’m not sure how much of an impact he’ll have.
For me, his strength is breaking up play but this season he seems to have been reinvented as a playmaker.
Good luck to him but this is a big step up from doing it in the Premiership for Celtic.
Because, I’m afraid, the bottom line is England have players who are better at it.