Compiling a list of the Scotland team’s great triumphs is the sort of assignment a knowledgeable Tartan Army conscript could pull off in a coffee break. As long as the Wembley Wizards, the Wembley wins in 1967 and ’77 (among a few others), qualifying for five World Cups in a row, and beating France in 1989, 2006 and 2007 are included, regrettably that just about covers it.
If Scotland beat England on Saturday that would have to be added to the list, too, at least as far as Mark McGhee was concerned yesterday. When he was asked about the magnitude of this weekend’s World Cup qualifier the national assistant manager recalled the dramatic ties in Cardiff in 1977 and 1985, which secured qualification for the following summer’s World Cups.
“England have great players ... really top players,” he said. “They are in danger of soon becoming a good team under Gareth [Southgate, the manager]. 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.
“My goal against England [in the 1-1 draw in 1984] is one people need to be reminded about. If one of these guys gets the winner this weekend people will always remember it without having to be reminded.
“England are becoming a great team. We know the strengths of their individual club teams, but we don’t know the nature of their joint performance. A lot of our boys are familiar with their players 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. That means we could get a result.”
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The England camp has tossed up a couple of surprising stories this week. McGhee said he understood why Southgate had taken his squad to an obstacle course under the guidance of the Royal Marines. “I don’t think it is a gimmick. Gareth will have ideas on the type of work he has to do. Maybe it’s some light relief. They have great players but they are not always a great team. He is trying to mould them into the great team potential they have in them. I think things like this can help.”
He had not seen the story that a Scot — the former Hamilton, St Mirren, Airdrie United and Kilmarnock forward Allan Russell — had spent time with England’s celebrated forwards as a striking coach. “He might be a Trojan horse,” McGhee said before jokingly pointing out Scotland have a notable strikers’ coach of their own: himself.
Leigh Griffiths recovered from a minor illness to resume training and Kieran Tierney had also participated in the sessions fully having had a gumshield fitted after his painful injury in the William Hill Scottish Cup final. “He wore it this morning. He says he finds it difficult to shout but otherwise no problems. He was not being flippant, but I think he was just saying he feels he’s a bit tender. He’ll get used to it but I’m quite sure he will find a way of communicating.
“I’m not 100 per cent sure he’s a lad who says that much to anybody anyway. He has been throwing himself into challenges as usual, he’s fearless. You’ve got to hold him back at times. He is one of these boys who only knows one way to play, and that includes training.”
McGhee compared Tierney’s attitude and aggression to one of the great warriors who used to patrol the left back beat for England. “Stuart Pearce is a good example. That blood on the face and head is Kieran. He might not intimidate people yet because they don’t know him well enough. But in time he will be a player who, simply by playing against him, others will be intimidated. He is definitely one who grows, even in terms of his physical stature, when he goes out there on the pitch. You see him round the camp and he is going around with his duffle bag. I don’t know what he keeps in it; his boots probably, and his gumshield now. But when he takes that off and walks on to the pitch he is a different animal.
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“He seems to mimic so much of Browny [Scott Brown]. He comes to training in all weathers in short-sleeved shirt and shorts, never trousers or a long-sleeve shirt. I think he feels the pressure of Browny being like that and thinks, ‘well, if he’s not wearing a jumper I can’t either’. He has that kind of toughness where he tests himself all the time. That’s what I like about him, he always seems to be testing himself in all sorts of ways.”