The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Mulgrew wary of dangerous rivals
No easy task as defender prepares to blunt Auld Enemy attacks
There is much more to beating England tomorrow than stopping Harry Kane, according to Scotland’s Charlie Mulgrew.
The Tottenham striker and English Premier League golden boot winner is the main man for Gareth Southgate’s side but Mulgrew is well aware that the Auld Enemy have plenty of other goal threats.
He said: “The reputation that someone like Kane has is in your head and it probably sharpens you up a bit.
“It perhaps sharpens your senses to realise how good these players are and all of a sudden you need to deal with it.
“It is not easy, trust me, but we will be giving everything we can to get something from the game.
“If you stop Kane then you have to worry about Raheem Sterling.
“There are so many of them. You can’t just pick out Kane as the one to stop.”
Scotland defender Charlie Mulgrew has stressed that it’s not just Harry Kane who can cause Gordon Strachan’s team pain.
The Scots go toe to toe with England at Hampden tomorrow evening in their World Cup qualifying Group F match needing a victory to keep alive their hopes of making it to Russia next summer.
Also at stake is Strachan’s job, with the former Celtic, Middlesbrough and Southampton likely to quit or be sacked if the Scots lose to the Auld Enemy.
All that means there is a heavy burden on the players in dark blue who have to try to stop Kane and co.
The Tottenham striker has yet to play under England boss Gareth Southgate since he was appointed in October but Kane will lead the line this time.
If there were any doubts about Kane’s quality then surely they were vanquished by his recent form.
The Spurs star scored eight goals in a week – including two hat-tricks – during the finale to the season to push himself well clear of Everton’s Romelu Lukaku in the race for the English Premier League’s Golden Boot award.
Indeed, it was the second successive time that Kane had been crowned top scorer in the top flight down south.
Mulgrew, who is likely to be handed the challenging task of marking him tomorrow, is well aware of the danger he poses – but he warned that there are others to worry about too.
The Blackburn player said: “The reputation that someone like Kane has is in your head and it probably sharpens you up a bit.
“It perhaps sharpens your senses to realise how good these players are and all of a sudden you need to deal with it.
“It is not easy, trust me, but we will be giving everything we can to get something from the game.
“If you stop Kane then you have to worry about Raheem Sterling. “There are so many of them. “You can’t just pick out Kane as the one to stop. “You have to worry about everybody. “They might have someone like Jermaine Defoe or Marcus Rashford to come in.
“They have a team of world-class players so we have to be prepared and ready for all the possibilities.”
What the Scots have going for them is the fine display against Slovenia in their last qualifier in March.
A goal a couple of minutes from time from sub Chris Martin grabbed the three points and all the headlines but also of note was the solid display at the back.
Mulgrew partnered Russell Martin in the centre of defence that night and never really looked ruffled.
He said: “We played really well to get the clean sheet.
“It came from the whole team, though.
“A lot of the time the back four get the credit but we know how hard the people in front of us work.
“They make our job a bit easier and it is a team game.
“So we can take confidence from that but it is a whole new challenge again this time around and we need to be ready for it.
“We are looking forward to the game like any other game and we want to win it. “It is not going to be easy. “We are underdogs and they have topclass players all over the pitch.
“We aren’t kidding ourselves and we know how hard it is going to be.
“We are up for the game, though, and we are going to give it everything we’ve got.”
If selected to face the English, it will be a career high for the former Dundee United, Aberdeen and Celtic man.
Mulgrew said: “It would be right up there.
“I love playing for Scotland no matter who it is against but to play against England would be special.
“I grew up watching these games and dreaming of playing in them.
“It would be brilliant to be involved in one.”
They have a team of worldclass players so we have to be prepared and ready for all the possibilities.
CHARLIE MULGREW