LIVING IN THE NOW

We don’t need history talks to get fired-up for England, says Fay

ENGLAND players may have been watching Braveheart to steel themselves for facing the Auld Enemy, but Scotland captain Gemma Fay insists her team won’t require any motivation when they head into battle in Utrecht tonight. England manager Mark Sampson gave his players a

Braveheart-inspired presentation on Scottish culture on the eve of the historic Women’s European Championship fixture.

But Fay, the European Championship’s only 200-cap player, believes she leads a squad fully aware of how much facing the Auld Enemy — in the men’s or women’s game — means to their fans as they prepare for their first major tournament match.

‘I don’t think we need a history lesson in any sort of English culture,’ said Fay, before adding: ‘It would be interesting to see what their (England’s) reaction to Mel Gibson’s accent in

Braveheart was. It’s a bit dodgy. ‘When you are born in Scotland, you’re born into the Scottish-English rivalry in sport. Even if your family aren’t that good at sport, you all know about it — be it football, rugby, or whatever.

‘We know about that rivalry. It’s one that excites us, but it’s not one that will overshadow what we’re here to do and that’s to go out and look to win this first game.’

England’s stars have admitted to being shown video footage featuring clips from Gibson’s 1995 blockbuster while recalling childhood memories, including Paul Gascoigne’s Euro 96 winner at Wembley.

Sampson (below) seemed taken aback that news of his presentation had leaked when quizzed on the issue in his prematch press conference at the Stadion Galgenwaard last night.

But the Lionesses’ manager confirmed the briefing did take place at England’s base on the outskirts of Utrecht ahead of tonight’s game.

Sampson said: ‘Who told you that? We’ve got a mole in the camp... that’s not a good start! We did have a history lesson, yes.

‘We do it all the time and anytime we play an opponent at a major tournament. We did it at the World Cup. We want our players to understand their reasoning of “why?”.

‘Our “why” is we want to inspire a nation. We want to win for our family and friends and become the best team in the world. So we need to know what their “why” is because they’re going to go to great lengths and dig really deep to try to find a way to beat this England team. ‘For us to understand why they are willing to do that is really important to us. So now we know that and we’re clear on that, we can make sure our motivation levels are right and we can find a way to win.’

Scotland are 11/1 underdogs with the bookmakers against an England side with ambitions of winning the tournament after finishing third — and as the top European nation — at the World Cup two summers ago.

The odds are against them, but that will not dampen the belief among Anna Signeul’s Scots.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is in Utrecht and Scotland’s Swedish coach says the nation’s first major tournament finals appearance in 19 years — men or women — should be a moment of pride embraced by her players.

‘I’m as proud to hear the Scotland national anthem as I am to hear the Swedish,’ said Signeul.

‘It will be a big moment for me to see the flag and hear the anthem. I feel half-Scottish. It will be a proud moment.’

The players trained on the Stadion Galgenwaard pitch last night ahead of an occasion that comes after qualifying heartbreak in trying to reach the previous two Euros and a World Cup.

Midfielder Rachel Corsie said: ‘It’s fantastic to be here.

‘A lot of the squad have been together and have been around one another when we’ve had some of the hard times — and I think that has brought us together.

‘Off the pitch, the last two weeks have been a really positive experience. The whole year has.’

Scotland are already missing key players in Arsenal’s Kim Little and Manchester City star Jen Beattie from the tournament through injury.

Defender Hayley Lauder is also out tonight with a hamstring problem, but is likely to be ready to face Portugal on Wednesday.

Skipper Fay is sure the players who are available will not be overawed.

‘There are players who are not here, but that brings us closer together as a team,’ she said.

‘We’ve had messages from them all wishing us luck. They’re with us all the way.’