Outclassed at Wembley but Berra believes he is no longer an outcast

Myths, legends and mysteries were part of the colourful fabric of Scotland long before a green lady ghost was said to have stalked the ramparts of Stirling castle in the 16th century.

For long-suffering followers of the national team, the past 30 years have thrown up one of their own. the curious case of the vanishing central defender.

the soundtrack to Gordon Strachan’s best days in a Scotland jersey was a national debate on which pairing to select from a casting coach occupied by alan hansen, Willie Miller and alex McLeish.

Like many traditional industries still prevalent in that age, no one ever saw the good times ending.

Upon succeeding craig Levein in the post almost four years ago, Strachan’s agenda was headed by a need to identify the men and the system that would toughen up the side’s glass jaw. Damningly for him, the answer remains as elusive as ever.

Scotland have now conceded eight goals in four qualifying matches and most have been avoidable.

It’s difficult not to have some sympathy with the view that such a grim statistic is just symptomatic of the limitations of honest pros trying to make a fist of it at international level.

But isn’t finding a way to succeed the very essence of shrewd management?

Devoid of a transfer market and faced, in all probability, with soldiering on with the current crop, Strachan, or more likely his successor, will remain burdened by this task.

the omission of Russell Martin from the side that faced England on Friday was an admission that previous experiments had failed. christophe Berra, who partnered Grant hanley, did not fare too badly and there remains a realism about how far any partnership forged in the English championship can take you when exposed to players of the ilk of Daniel Sturridge and Wayne Rooney.

‘In the end, their quality shone through in the box,’ Berra later conceded.

‘No disrespect to Scotland but England’s players are at Liverpool, tottenham, Man city — at the top of the Premier League and in European football — and we got punished.

‘We don’t have the qualities England players do.

‘against lesser teams, we’d have got something. they wouldn’t have had that quality of (adam) Lallana making that last-ditch run into the box to get that great header — and that’s the difference.

‘there were a lot of positives to take from the game overall. We showed a different attitude than in previous games. We closed them down and put tackles in and maybe we weren’t as easy to play against.

‘the gaffer was saying there’s not much we did wrong. he’s come here in the past with Scotland and got an absolute doing, but I don’t think that was a doing.’

It may be somewhat incongruous to suggest that there were positives to be taken from what was ultimately a fairly comprehensive three-goal loss — the most onesided result between the sides in 41 years — but that was the strange story of the night.

Strachan’s side were markedly better than when they lost by the same margin in Slovakia in October.

Not, admittedly, good enough to take anything from the game and to definitely prolong his tenure but it was a baby step in the right direction.

they restricted an England side populated exclusively by Premier League players to four gilt-edged chances of which they converted three.

Berra, for so long a bench warmer in Dark Blue or shocking pink, made a reasonable case that he deserves his chance under whoever selects the side to face Slovenia in March.

‘Yeah, obviously I’ve been sitting in the background, maybe personally, thinking I should have had a chance before. But I’m not the only one,’ the 31-year-old Ipswich man added.

‘I thought myself and Grant were quite solid. I know Sturridge scored but he was quiet throughout the game.

‘It was frustrating not to play because I’m not getting any younger but I knew I had to take my chance when it came and I don’t think I let the team down.

‘I did what I could to keep England at bay and, hopefully, I’ll be selected again in the next game.

‘Sometimes you wonder: “What more can I do” but there’s another 13 or 14 players thinking the same, so you’ve got to bite your tongue sometimes and wait for an opportunity.

‘I did have to bite my tongue at times because it’s frustrating, but I’m not one to throw my toys out of the pram. I’m a levelheaded guy, I just work hard and, hopefully, I’ve done enough to get another chance.’

as understandable as the Scottish bemusement was at losing a game they had competed in by such a margin, those promoting an argument that they were in some way unlucky were missing the point.

It was true that Strachan’s men created as many chances as England.

the final score did not, however, mask a sporting travesty. It told a story of the respective sides’ contrasting aptitude for defending and finishing.

‘It was a tough game but we had just as many chances as them,’ Berra reflected.

‘I know the last ten minutes paint a different picture but we had run out of steam.

‘I thought we went toe-to-toe with them and showed a different attitude than in previous games. We probably spooked them a little bit.

‘their first goal was a wee bit fortunate, the shot that was blocked on another day could have gone 20 yards out of the pitch but it went wide and we were running back to get in.

‘Grant hanley was on the floor, and Sturridge smashes it in with an unbelievable header.

‘It was disappointing to lose a (Gary cahill) goal from a corner and the other goal, from their point of view, was a good goal with adam Lallana cutting in from the right wing.’

With six games to play, Scotland are not yet arithmetically out of the running for second place.

Yet there is limited tangible evidence to suggest a squad that’s only now looking down on Malta in Group F can suddenly find the wherewithal to bypass the sides who are fast fading into the distance. ‘We need to beat Slovakia and Slovenia at home, for sure,’ said Berra (left). ‘We’re only four points off second place and we have a chance to qualify. ‘We’ve got to show that no-fear mentality that we did against England, when we hunted the ball down if we lost it.

‘We put good players under pressure and they lost it, they didn’t like it when we were getting in about them. ‘It’s maybe a more British-style of football, more direct and lots of teams don’t like playing against it.’