Mulgrew remains modest despite shut-out record

Scotland central defender Charlie Mulgrew has modestly played down his role in shutting the defensive door, writes Ian Roache.

The last-gasp win over Slovakia on Thursday earned the Scots three consecutive clean sheets in competitive matches for the first time in 18 years.

Lithuania, Malta and now Slovakia have failed to score against Gordon Strachan’s team.

The last such hat-trick came way back in 1999 when they kept out Estonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Lithuania in European Championship qualifiers.

A huge part of their current defensive success is down to the central pairing of Blackburn Rovers’ player Mulgrew and Hearts captain Christophe Berra.

Scotland were supposed to be struggling at the back during this campaign but instead they have looked pretty solid, certainly since Harry Kane scored his stoppage-time equaliser for England at Hampden back in June.

Mulgrew should be claiming a lot of the credit for that but he said: “It’s a team game.

“That is not just down to us at the back – it’s right through the side.

“We couldn’t do it without the boys in front of us who are working hard and making life a bit easier for us in defence.

“I do enjoy playing with Christophe,” added the former Dundee United, Celtic and Aberdeen man. “He is a top player.

“It is great to play alongside him and hopefully he enjoys playing alongside me.

“Like I say though, it’s a team game.

“You could go right through the squad and there are boys that have played their part in different things, and worked in front of us to make our job easier.”

Mulgrew praised his teammates for staying calm and collected despite pressure from the stands as they sought a winner against the Slovaks.

He said: “We kept our heads and it was a great way to win a game.

“We knew we had to be patient and keep the ball, although the fans obviously wanted the ball forward quicker.

“That is understandable but we have all played in that atmosphere before.

“You need to be patient and tire them out. We knew an opportunity would come.

“The only people that can affect the outcome is us on the park so we need to keep our heads right. “We needed to keep believing. “With the quality we’ve got coming on to the park, with big Chrissy Martin and James McArthur coming on , it really helped us.

“It just shows the quality throughout the squad.

“It shows everyone is behind it, even if they’re not starting games.

“Everyone on the bench is ready to come on and make an impact.

“For example, big Chrissy has shown it this campaign when he’s come on.

“He’s a great lad to have about the place with a great attitude.

“Everybody is pushing in the right direction for one thing and it showed.”