SCOTS CLASH IS KEY FOR GARETH, SAYS REDKNAPP
SCOTLAND could make or break Gareth Southgate’s chances of landing the England job in a top-of-the-table Wembley World Cup clash, according to former team-mate Jamie Redknapp.
The ex-Liverpool and Spurs midfielder, who backs interim boss Southgate (below) to win a permanent promotion to the most scrutinised post in English football, expects Scotland to be neck-and-neck with the Auld Enemy after Saturday night’s home qualifier against Lithuania and next week’s trip to Slovakia.
And former England star Redknapp says his old friend, officially in charge until just after the visit of Gordon Strachan’s team, should view the oldest fixture in international football as an opportunity to stake his claim.
‘It’s going to be a big game, a really important game,’ he insisted. ‘I will be surprised if Gareth has got the job full-time by then.
‘It’s the sort of one that, if you win it, that can really help his cause. If you lose it, well, you lose any derby match, it always puts pressure on the manager. It’s a tough one for him.
‘It should be a top-of-the-table match. And you can’t underestimate what this game can do. If Scotland were to get a result and beat England, then they would get a massive lift — and it would be the same for England. ‘It feels like a really big game. A lot can happen before that — but don’t underestimate what it would do for the confidence of the winning side.
‘I think it’s a good time for Scotland to be getting England. Because, whatever else is going on, the pressure will be on us. ‘If you look at the 11 players, England have a strong group, so the expectation will be on them. All in all, Scotland will look at it and think they’ve got a great chance of beating England.’
Redknapp admits to breaking out in a cold sweat whenever anyone even mentions England v Scotland at Wembley. Specifically the Euro 2000 play-off second leg when he won the last of his 17 international caps. It’s a game that still spooks him to this day.
And as much as he relishes the oldest rivalry in football, as reluctant as he would ever be to show weakness in the face of Scottish questioning, he can’t deny England are far from settled after the Sam Allardyce scandal.
‘It’s been tough,’ conceded Redknapp, who was in St Andrews to play in the opening round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship which teed off yesterday. ‘It’s been a very tough time for English football.
‘What has happened with Sam Allardyce is gone now. You just have to look forward.
‘I would love to see Gareth get the job. I played alongside him, he’s a good guy, he’s done his time working with the Under-21s.
‘I don’t think there is anyone who could say he doesn’t deserve it. He’s worked with the FA for a long time, he knows it inside out.
‘The next manager has to make sure there are no skeletons in the closet. If that’s the case, then you can’t take the job because of what it brings with it — all the pressure, stress and scrutiny.
‘So I like Gareth, no problem at all. I think he’ll move up to the full squad without an issue.’
Allardyce’s self-inflicted downfall must have prompted some wry smiles among those previously passed over by the FA on the grounds of their ‘colourful’ back stories. Harry Redknapp, in particular, wouldn’t be human if he didn’t feel that different standards had been applied to certain candidates.
Jamie insisted his dad has spent no time brooding over the matter, declaring: ‘His time went. He understands that. They went with Roy Hodgson.
‘What concerns me is that the England job should be the pinnacle of the career for managers. But a lot of them might wonder if it’s worth the stress. It becomes almost untenable.’
The prospect of the Tartan Army marching on Wembley with unrest in the air holds an obvious appeal for Scotland fans who, conveniently ignoring the fact we lost the Euro 2000 play-off 2-1 on aggregate, still celebrate the 1999 1-0 win courtesy of Don Hutchison’s famous header.
‘Don’t even talk to me about that game — it makes me sweat just thinking about it,’ laughed Redknapp.
‘I remember we won the first leg 2-0, played really well and Paul Scholes scored two really good headers. I played left midfield that day, wasn’t great to be honest. I played well in the second game, I remember that!
‘But I just remember when Don scored, I thought: “Oh, here we go …” And then he had a header at the back post with about two minutes to go. I’ve got to be honest, if you’d have scored that, you’d have won.
‘You would have beaten us in extra time, because you could see we’d gone, the crowd were on us — and we were really on the back foot. It ended up being a big result for us.
‘Don was a big player for Scotland and, looking at the team now, I’d pick out Robert Snodgrass to be the one England have to watch. He’s the Scottish player I’d be most nervous about.
‘I know how much Scotland want to win it. But it’s the same for us, honest. Make no mistake about it. It was always a big game.
‘I remember going to play at Hampden, the ferocious atmosphere. We were lining up right in front of the band and couldn’t hear the anthem. Couldn’t hear a word.
‘That was the last game I played for England, against Scotland at Wembley. I knew my knee was in trouble but I didn’t realise how much trouble I was in.
‘I suppose, to beat Scotland and qualify for a major finals, it was a nice way to sign off from the international game.’
Redknapp, who sees next month’s qualifier as an almost certain top-of-the-table tussle, believes an all-British clash will provide something different from the usual international fare.
‘I think Scotland and England need to play to their strengths,’ he said. ‘We both get drawn in to trying to change our style for the international game. ‘But look at what Celtic do, look at what Tottenham do. There will be Spurs players in that England squad — and they should be trying to do to Scotland what Tottenham do to teams.
‘Go and press, go and hunt the ball. Do what Scotland will be trying to do to you. ‘It’s really important to be like Celtic were against Man City. They made life uncomfortable for City. ‘So Scotland need to make the game uncomfortable for England.
‘If you sit off the good players England have, that’s asking for trouble.’