Scots could do with pluck of the Irish
BARRY BANNAN says Scotland should look across the Irish Sea for inspiration to rescue our World Cup campaign.
The Republic of Ireland pipped us to a play-off place in the last Euro group before cashing in by seeing off Bosnia-Herzegovina to reach the Finals.
However, it was their stunning victory over world champions Germany that got them ahead of Gordon Strachan’s side, which the Sheffield Wednesday midfielder argues is relevant to our current struggles.
“That result proved no one is unbeatable,” he said. “I don’t think before that match anyone outside of their group would have thought the Irish could win it.
“They believed it, though, and they came up with a big, big result.
“Now we find ourselves going to Wembley, having to do something similar against England.
“I think in the last campaign we were going stronger than Ireland, but they picked up results in games where no one gave them a chance.
“So there is no reason why that can’t be us by going to Wembley and getting points there.
“I don’t think England are unbeatable. They went to Slovenia and dropped points, which certainly would not have been their plan.
“It’s a close group, with everyone evenly-matched and beating each other. You look at it like that and there is no reason why we can’t go to London and win.”
The little 26-year-old is renowned for having a larger-thanlife personality and he insists the showdown with the Auld Enemy will be an occasion to be relished.
“Listen, representing the country is a great thing,” he said.
“I give my all every time I’m out there. You’ve got to give your all. It’s a team game, and we’re all disappointed with how we played against Lithuania and Slovakia.
“But playing at Wembley is a massive game for us. Everyone wants to play in it.
“So we must try and perform for our clubs and fight to get back into top form for the next time we meet up.”