King Kenny gives his verdict on the Wembley showdown
I MAY have lived in England for nearly 40 years, but my love for my homeland has never diminished.
My desire for Scotland to succeed on the football field is as strong as ever.
I’m well aware Friday night’s World Cup qualifier will be no easy task for Gordon Strachan and his team.
Games at the Twin Towers never were when I was a player, losing three and winning twice.
But while I believe Scotland’s players should be respectful of their opponents on Friday night, they must not allow themselves to be intimidated.
Given the quality in Gareth Southgate’s squad, and the fact the game is on their turf, it’s more than likely we’ll go for long periods without the ball.
If England have lengthy passages of possession, then we mu s t not become frustrated and lose our tactical discipline and shape.
We must try to use it to our advantage and frustrate them.
D o n’t forget, the expectation is all on England’s shoulders.
Why couldn’t we have just changed shorts and socks?
We should be mindful that, as much as they have some very good individual players, they are not in the best of form at this time.
Let’s hope the Scotland players can take advantage of any English apprehension and be confident and forceful.
At the moment, we can only speculate on Gordon Strachan’s team selection.
People have been calling for Leigh Griffiths to start. But the Wee Man ( Gordon) will analyse his own squad, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of England, and pick players and a formation based on that.
When the team is announced, no matter what it is, we must all be supportive. We need to be united.
One player I do hope starts the game is Scott Brown.
There has been plenty of chat and opinion offered about his inclusion after retiring from the international scene two or three months ago. My view is that he will make the team stronger, and we need our best players for this occasion.
He has a wealth of experience, and is also in some fine form right now.
He’s the captain of Celtic and his game has matured in the past three or four years. His ability and desire are qualities we’ll need against England, so I hope he can shake off yesterday’s injury.
It will be a major plus to have him available again – Gordon will be delighted.
What the Wee Man might not be so happy about, despite what h e’s said publicly, is not getting to wear our traditional dark blue jersey.
For reasons that still have me scratching my head, FIFA reckon there is a clash between our home jersey and England’s, so we must wear our change strip.
It just so happens to be pink, and some fans are not fond of it.
So why couldn’t we have just have kept the dark blue top, and changed our shorts and socks instead of our jersey?
But listen. The bottom line is that we must not use the change of strip as any sort of excuse if we do not get the right result.
Really, the colour of the jersey doesn’t matter. It can’t get you a clean sheet or score you a goal. It’s all about the person inside the jersey.
I believe we have some very good players and some
strong characters in the Scotland dressing room.
Gordon and his backroom team will lead by example this week in training and make sure the players are prepared and ready for the challenge.
The last time we were at Wembley, back in 2013, we turned in a fine performance and were very unfortunate to lose 3-2. It was also a close game at Celtic Park between the countries a couple of years ago.
It goes without saying I’d love to see Scotland win the game and I’ll be cheering us on, watching the game on television.
I’ve a feeling it will be a 1-1 draw, and a point in London is a good result, absolutely no doubt about that.
They have Wayne Rooney, Jordan Henderson and also guys such as Raheem Sterling and Jon Stones, who cost almost £50-million each.
Re me m b e r, to o, that England don’t lose many games, especially atWembley.
Because we only took one point from our last two games against Lithuania and Slovakia, some people will say we need to win.
However, I believe a draw on England’s patch keeps us right in the hunt.
I hope it’s also enough to keep the Wee Man wanting to stay on as Scotland manager, and that he can go on to see us through this campaign to get to the World Cup Finals in Russia in under two years’ time.