Mulgrew up for any challenge

ONE is a title-winning skipper in the Premier League. The other is a mainstay in a team ignominiously relegated to the third tier of English football.

A choice between England captain Gary Cahill and Scotland stalwart Charlie Mulgrew as your starting centre-half? No contest. Or so you might think.

Listen to the assessment of one manager who has worked closely with both. And be prepared to have your mind changed.

To say that Owen Coyle admires Cahill, a player he tried desperately to retain in a previous life as Bolton boss, would be understating the situation.

Far from surprised that his former charge has gone on to lead both Chelsea and England, Coyle rates the 31-year-old as both a world-class footballer and a top-class man. No shock there.

But his assessment of former Celtic mainstay Mulgrew, part of a Blackburn side who have just crashed out of the Championship into League One? That may raise the odd eyebrow.

Even the prospect of trying to shackle Harry Kane, insists Coyle, won’t perturb a player with experience at the very highest level of the game. ‘Harry Kane is an outstanding player who has a bit of everything,’ said the well-travelled head coach. ‘He’s quick, he’s strong, he scores goals.

‘And the great thing about Harry is that he’s a very composed finisher for such a big, strong man. He will be a handful for anybody if he’s at his best.

‘But Charlie has stood up to top-class strikers in the Champions League, so it won’t faze him.

‘Mulgrew was outstanding for me at Blackburn. As a matter of fact, in both games when we beat Newcastle, Charlie scored both goals.

‘There is no question about his quality. He’s an outstanding man, a real team player who gets in among the players. If Charlie is selected, he always does his best — and he undoubtedly has quality.

‘Charlie is a top player. The only issue he has had in the last couple of years is picking up the wee injury here and there.

‘If Charlie Mulgrew can stay injury free, he can play in the Premier League in England. That’s the quality he’s got. So he’s just a wonderful player. If Gordon picks him, I’m sure he will do well. He would certainly be in my team.

‘He won’t be put off by the occasion, either That big-match experience, you have to go through that to understand what it’s all about.’

Identifying the contribution Mulgrew can make at both ends of the park as a possible deciding factor in Strachan’s selection, Coyle said: ‘Charlie is a real threat at set-plays — both with his delivery and getting on the end of them with headers.’

Cahill’s nine goals for Chelsea in their title-winning season also points to his strength in attacking those balls into the box, although digging a little deeper reveals a more rounded footballer, well capable of hurting opponents with quick feet and sharp finishing more in keeping with a striker.

‘He has the feet of a centreforward,’ said Coyle, who paused for thought when asked how a Leigh Griffiths or Chris Martin might expose a defender unlikely to be surprised by anything thrown at him.

Insisting that even one of his favourite ever players can’t be unbeatable, he said: ‘He’s quick and good in the air.

‘But I remember Alex MacDonald at Airdrie telling me that, if I was playing against a quick defender, then I had to stop and start them — nullify the pace.

‘Gary has pace to burn but, for all the quality he has, everyone has a deficiency.

‘Gordon will look at the tapes and see where they have lost goals and given up chances. There might only be three of four chances in the game but you have to take a decent percentage of them.’

Coyle speaks with obvious fondness about Cahill as a person, as well as a professional, noting: ‘We didn’t want to lose Gary — but he had six months to go on his deal and he moved for £7million.

‘To tell you about his character, we had agreed for him to join Chelsea but he still wanted to play for us on the Tuesday night against Everton.

‘He could have sat it out and said he wouldn’t risk anything — but he wanted to help his team-mates.

‘We then went on to win the game 2-1 with Gary scoring the winner. That was the measure of the man.’

All over the park, Saturday’s visitors to Hampden boast footballers of stature and reputation. Coyle (left) remains unbowed, declaring that Scotland should be far from intimidated on their own patch. ‘People globally will look at it and assume that England will do this and that,’ he admitted.

‘Well, you know what? That doesn’t have to be the case. ‘There will be difficult moments. There will be times when England have possession. ‘That’s fine. As long as they have possession without penetration, we

will be okay.’