Now go and ’meg us all proud, lads!
SAYS SIR KENNY DALGLISH
BEFORE England had Gazza in ’96, Scotland had Dalglish in ’76.
And now King Kenny is praying the stage is set tonight for another hero draped in navy blue to blast – or even just ’meg – their way into the book of legends, in international football’s oldest and most passionate fixture.
Few know the spine-tingling rush of scoring for Scotland in wins over England better than Dalglish.
He famously nutmegged Liverpool’s Ray Clemence for the 2-1 win at Hampden in 1976 – then made it back-to-back celebrations by netting at Wembley in a 2-1 victory a year later.
Both were iconic goals, but Scotland’s most-capped player and joint-highest scorer (with Denis Law) is now urging Steve Clarke’s current crop to join him in the Hampden history books – by dumping the Auld Enemy and putting one foot in the Euros last 16.
Sir Kenny, right, speaking as a McDonald’s Fun Football ambassador, said: “The boys Stevie has to choose from now are of a higher quality than when he started in the job two years ago, so a lot of them will have played atWembley.
“They’ve got legendary status just for qualifying. David Marshall saving that play-off final penalty was unbelievable.
“We were watching in the house and when he saved it we were up out of our seat. Nearly spilled our drinks.
“But they won’t rest, and playing England is a huge incentive to try to do something really special. It was fantastic to see the team spirit after Marsh saved the penalty.You need that when you have backs to the wall.”
Dalglish in tandem with Joe Jordan was a legendary Scottish strikeforce. But could Che Adams and Lyndon Dykes together be the answer for Scotland atWembley this evening?
Sir Kenny said: “We used to struggle to get one up front, now we’re asking if we can play two.
“Adams coming to play for Scotland was a help and Dykes has been a decent forward. You still need to play to your strengths.”
Avoiding defeat is crucial, but Sir Kenny says victory would give the Anglo-Scots unique club bragging rights.
Sticking it through future Liverpool pal Clemence’s legs to score the winner in ’76 was a gift in that regard. Sir Kenny said: “If our Englishbased boys get a result they’ll take it back to their dressing rooms and not let their team-mates forget it for the next year.
“You just hope you have a couple of days off training if you’ve lost. If you win, though, you want to go to the training ground straight after the match and get right into them.”