Gordon Strachan is wrestling with a selection dilemma ahead of Scotland’s challenge match against England at Celtic Park tonight.
The Scottish players and the Tartan Army are on a high after the 1-0 win over the Republic of Ireland at the same venue last Friday night which kept their 2016 European championship qualifying hopes very much alive.
Victory over the Auld Enemy would complete a morale-boosting double but the Scotland manager is keen to give some of those who were not involved against the Irish a runout. Darren Fletcher missed training yesterday as he was not feeling well, while fellow midfielder James Morrison returned after missing the Ireland game due to illness.
Strachan will also “keep an eye” on goalkeeper David Marshall, all of which will also come into consideration when he names his team to face the Three Lions.
“I would like to give everyone the experience of playing in the game but I have to balance it with the fact that I want to win as well,” he said.
“That is what we have to think about in the next few hours.
“Everyone who plays wants to compete and make it as difficult as possible for the other team but there are boys who have been 10 days away without getting a competitive touch.
“So you try to make sure that everyone feels part of the squad and sometimes you can put the game at risk – that is the balance we have to find. We did some work on Saturday and had time off on Sunday to relax our minds and our bodies.
“We put on training today to see what we can do with them, then we had an intensive warm-up and I thought they would take their foot off the gas when it came to the game situation that we put on, but no.
“It was as intense as it was in the first day of pre-season.
“I have so many players wanting to play against England and it will be as intense against them as it was on Friday.”
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