SHOT AT GLORY

Scotland can make history at Hampden, says McGhee

MARK McGHEE believes Scotland can achieve their biggest result in three decades by beating England on Saturday.

Gordon Strachan’s assistant insists victory over Gareth Southgate’s side would equate with the night in Wales when the late Davie Cooper’s penalty earned Scotland a 1-1 draw and a play-off for the 1986 World Cup finals.

Expressing respect for a Three Lions side unbeaten in any qualifying competition since 2009, McGhee said: ‘England have great players... really top players. They are in danger of soon becoming a good team under Gareth.

‘For us to beat this team even at this stage of their evolution would be a great result.

‘I think in terms of us getting back in the competition it would rank with Cardiff and other games like that. It’s a big, big opportunity.’

Scotland’s last victory over England in a competitive game came in the second leg of a Euro 2000 play-off in 1999.

With just five wins in the fixture since 1970, the Scots are significant underdogs despite enjoying home

advantage. McGhee scored in a 1-1 draw against the Auld Enemy at Hampden in 1984. And 33 years since he made his mark in the fixture with a headed goal, he believes the chance is there for Scotland’s players to notch up a careerdefining triumph. ‘This is nothing like the game I played in,’ he added. ‘If Leigh Griffiths or Chris Martin score the winner here people will remember that goal. ‘My goal versus England people need to be reminded of. ‘Only when you remind them do they say: “That’s right, I remember it now.” ‘If one of these guys get the winner, people will always remember it. That’s the difference.’ Victory would drag the Scots back into the reckoning for next summer’s World Cup finals in Russia after a poor start to the campaign. Buoyed by a 1-0 win over Slovenia, McGhee says the home nation will enter the game with no fear or trepidation. ‘England are becoming it (a great team) We know the strengths of their individual players. We don’t know the nature of their joint performance. ‘A lot of our boys are familiar with their players from playing against them and there is no mystery. ‘Some of our boys who have played them will have had good days against them. ‘So it is not something they go into with any fear. ‘We are playing a group of players who are good players, at a high level, but there is a performance within us, no doubt about it. ‘We are giving them a day off tomorrow. They have trained with such an intensity. ‘That has been great to see, they look as if they still have the energy to go into a game like this. ‘But we don’t want them to use their energy before the game, either nervous energy or physical energy. ‘So we will calm it down with a day off and Friday will be less intense than it’s been the last couple of days.’