Mulgrew knows it is survival of the fittest to stay on track
THREE weeks on from the conclusion of his domestic season and a fortnight from the biggest international of his career, Charlie Mulgrew is having to improvise. As a consequence, the SFA’s summer B Licence course has never quite seemed so lively.
Challenged with maintaining his match sharpness ahead of the World Cup qualifier against England on June 10, Mulgrew has been treating the coaching drills at the Oriam complex like full-blooded training sessions with blocks, tackles and overlapping runs all part of the education for the 31-year-old’s fellow candidates.
‘I’d been in most days at Blackburn working with the fitness coaches, so I was keeping myself going anyway,’ says Mulgrew. ‘Now I’ve come here for my B Licence, I’m out on the pitch every day.
‘We’re maybe not training with the same intensity, but I’m trying to make it as intense as I can. I’m making runs in sessions I wouldn’t usually make, just to get the sprints in. I’m every coach’s best runner.
‘And I’ve got a running programme from Blackburn that I’ll be doing when I finish here. The only thing I’ll be missing is the match practice.’
Gordon Strachan has named an enlarged squad of 29 for the England game, 11 of them drawn from the English Championship and therefore susceptible to a fitness lag owing to the five-week gap from the final round of league fixture.
While the likes of Fulham’s Tom Cairney and Chris Martin, the latter scorer of the winning goal in the previous qualifier against Slovenia, benefited from their club’s subsequent involvement in the play-offs, there is a legitimate concern over the match condition of the rest.
It is likely that a few of those players will drop off as Strachan whittles his pool down to a lean 23 ahead of the game but Mulgrew is determined to maintain an edge, which he hopes will see him retain his place in the starting XI.
‘I’ve been looking forward to this game for months,’ says the former Celtic man. ‘It goes without saying the manager won’t even need a team talk, it’s massive for everyone.
‘In terms of fitness, his training will help in the build-up because he does a lot of 11 v 11 stuff, a proper match environment. England will have the same problems but the adrenaline will be there for all of us.’
It has been a tough campaign for Mulgrew, who started the season injured and out of contract at Celtic. Afforded training facilities by Brendan Rodgers, he got himself in shape before accepting Owen Coyle’s offer to move to Blackburn.
He was still working on his fitness when Scotland faced England at Wembley in November but earned a late call-up to the squad regardless.
‘I had only started two games but I was on the phone to the manager offering to play if he needed me,’ he recalls. ‘I’m like that for every Scotland game, itching to be involved. I’ve always loved it and I’ll keep playing with Scotland until I’m told otherwise.
‘I told him if he needed me, I was prepared, ready to go. I was grateful for the call, even though I wasn’t stripped for the game. I sat right behind the dugout with John McGinn and Gordon Greer and it was such a weird game because I thought we played brilliantly.
‘To lose 3-0 didn’t reflect the game with the chances we had. Three crosses, three goals for them — it was such a strange match.’
Strachan’s starting defence at Wembley featured Grant Hanley and Christophe Berra in the middle with Ikechi Anya and Lee Wallace occupying the full-back roles.
The return from injury of Kieran Tierney and Andrew Robertson, coupled with recalls for Mulgrew and Russell Martin, saw a different back four fielded in the Slovenia match, a game eventually settled by Chris Martin’s solitary late goal.
Mulgrew was impressed by the showing of his former Parkhead team-mate Tierney in the unfamiliar territory of right-back. A renowned utility player himself, he believes Strachan can trust the teenager to play there again, should he shake off yesterday’s nasty mouth injury, and thereby accommodate both he and Robertson in the team.
‘I don’t think I’ve ever played at right-back,’ admits the 26-timescapped stopper. ‘It’s a bit unusual to see a left-footed player switch sides but it shouldn’t be any more of a problem for a right-footer going the other way. I can see it working again — I don’t see why not. KT did really well at right-back because he’s a great defender, a top player.
‘He’s more than good enough to pull it off. His defending is the best part of his game, not many get past him. He’s aggressive, too, so for him only to get one domestic booking this season shows you how well he times his tackles and reads the game.’
Although there have been highs for him at Ewood Park — Mulgrew twice scored winners in 1-0 victories over eventual champions Newcastle — Blackburn were sucked into the relegation mix and, despite improving under Coyle’s successor Tony Mowbray, went down on the final day.
Mulgrew has another two years on his contract but demotion to League One will not enhance his cap prospects.
Even if Mowbray sticks around, Mulgrew is unsure if he will as well.
‘We got 22 points from our last 15 games which was around ninth in the form table, so we were unlucky,’ adds Mulgrew. ‘But it was too little too late, to be honest. We didn’t do enough at the start of the season and we all have to take responsibility for that.
‘We don’t know what’s going to happen over the summer. Things are a bit up in the air for a lot of us, it will be up to the owners of the club whether they’re selling players, who’s staying or whatever their plans are.’
Mulgrew won’t lack for distraction. England at Hampden is one of the iconic international fixtures and the win over the Slovenians has fuelled hopes that a play-off place can be attained.
‘It was a big result for us when we needed it,’ he agrees. ‘It was a must-win game, everyone was saying it, and so it was a great feeling to keep our hopes alive.
‘England have players in the best league in the world but that’s the challenge for us — and they have to live up to that tag. Their press create a lot of pressure, they get it constantly down there, and we have to take advantage of that.
‘But the bigger picture is just getting a result and taking it into the games with Lithuania and Malta in September. That’s the aim.’
Manager won’t need a team talk. It’s a massive game for everyone