McGregor: It’s a in-win situation
ate more chances? Let’s see.”
Does Clarke believe England have equally improved during these past two and a bit years? He said: “They got to the final of the Euros, which is pretty good.
“At the World Cup, if you speak to anybody from the England camp they would say they were disappointed to go out in the quarter-finals but they went out to a really good team in the French.
“And that was a game that, with different small details within it, England could have won.
Answer
CALLUM McGregor insists he wouldn’t sacrifice a win over England for the guarantee of a Norway-Georgia draw that would send
Scotland to the Euros.
The fact that the next qualifier is Spain in Seville next month doesn’t faze him.
That’s what five wins on the spin in the qualifiers does for the confidence.
“That’s an easy one – us beating England,” he said. “Because then we can just win the next game and we will qualify anyway.
“It doesn’t really matter when you qualify, you
“It’s difficult to say if they have improved but I don’t think they have gone backwards.”
The real answer will come tonight when Clarke sends his side out on the back of a five game winning streak in the Euro qualifiers.
And the perfectionist inside him will struggle to accept the wrong one.
He went on: “Recent results
IT WAS the match which introduced the world to international football — November 30, 1872, St Andrew’s Day at Hamilton Crescent, home of West of Scotland Cricket Club.
There are estimates of between 2,500-4,000 fans being at the game paying one shilling to be part of a duel which is the oldest in football.
A game which ended Scotland 0 England 0… and ironically the last time they faced each other, at Euro 2020 on June 18, 2021, it was that same score at Wembley. They were two of only four games out of the
115 where they have met that have been goalless, the others being in 1970 and 1987.
Of the 115, England have won 48, Scotland 41 with 26 draws. Who scored the first goal between them? William Kenyon-Slaney when they met at
The Oval in 1873, a match England won 4-2 in the second match of the rivalry.
And who scored the last goal…
Harry Kane with his stoppage time equaliser in the 2-2 draw at Hampden in 2017 in their World
Cup 2018 qualifier.
Scotland achieved their biggest win against England in
1878 when they triumphed 7-2 while England’s biggest was their 9-3 victory in 1961. have got to get enough points.
“If that happens tomorrow night then great. But I would much rather win the game that I am playing in, especially when it is such a big fixture.
“We then have three more games to qualify after that and we will deal with that when it comes.”
McGregor was six years old when Scotland last beat England in 1999.
He doesn’t remember a thing about it but admits that his dad was always drumming have been good, let’s try and get another one tomorrow against a country where the Tartan Army would enjoy it if we got a positive result against England.
Laughing
“I know they will want to come here and win, that’s for sure. They have rivalries with the boys at the same clubs as well as with boys at different clubs and we have a lot who are down south.
“I live down south and I certainly don’t want the neighbours chapping at my door laughing at me!
You have to have that kind of mentality. It’ll be a competitive friendly.
“It is extra nice to be the guy in charge for a 150th anniversary game so you think maybe in 150 years’ time when we are doing the 300th anniversary game someone might remember me!”
Biggest
into him the importance of these matches.
And having played in the 0-0 draw at Wembley two years ago at the Euros, he’d dearly love to go one better,
Smiled
“I don’t remember that win,” he smiled. “I’d have been rplaying football somewhere.
“My dad never shuts up talking about the Scotland v England game. I have heard enough about it in the weeks leading up to this game.
“I am sure
he will be excited tomorrow. He was probably at the one where they were swinging from the crossbar!”
McGregor wasn’t involved in the Scotland squad in 2017 when his then Celtic teammate Leigh Griffiths scored two free-kicks against Joe Hart in the 2-2 draw at Hampden.
He said: “That was discussed from day one when Joe arrived at Celtic! The minute Griff saw him, that was it.
“It was all a bit of a joke and there was banter thrown
Joe’s way.”