THESE EARLY June downpours have certainly put a dampener on the summer and it will be Scotland requiring a perfect storm against England this weekend. 

The Scots need to be right on it while England will have to have an off day if we are to keep our faint World Cup hopes flickering.

I can understand Gordon Strachan saying it’s a “must not lose” game rather than a “must win game” but anything other than victory really leaves Scotland asking for a few favours from the footballing Gods. 

If you want to be successful in qualifying groups then somewhere along the line you have to make a big statement and take down the leading team in the group. That team is clearly England. 

Is it a bridge too far for Scotland? Not necessarily but the magnitude of the task we face against England will not be lost on any member of the Tartan Army.

We’ve had quite a lot of this fixture in the last few years, having gone a long time without it. 

It has now been back on the radar these last few years and sometimes familiarity breeds contempt rather than contentment. In a sense, I think the novelty of these cross border tussles has worn off a bit but having said that it’s still a very meaningful game. 

So, let’s look at the positives. I commentated on the previous game at Wembley in November and Scotland outplayed England for long periods. That came as a surprise to me and everyone else. But England took their chances and Scotland didn’t. 

For good spells, though, Scotland weren’t just in the game, they were posing problems. 

I still believe, however, that England are a better team than they were in November when they were still finding their feet under Gareth Southgate.
It will take a brave man to say Scotland will win, but the likes of Stuart Armstrong and Kieran Tierney offer plenty of encouragement.

I want them to flourish on the big stage. Player for player, you’d be hard-pressed to make a case for any of the Scotland line-up getting into the current England team but Tierney is probably the closest we have. 

If he was English he would be certainly knocking on the door of their international set-up.

As ever with Scotland, it’s the old question of where are the goals coming from? 

They left it late against Slovenia, they got the result they deserved there and I wouldn’t expect to see many changes to that team. 

The players who started that match have earned a vote of confidence.
So what about a prediction? I still maintain Scotland are capable of drawing the game. It will be very hard to keep England out and I think there will be goals. I’ll go for a 1-1. 

Of course, you’re always hoping for better so that we can keep our slim hopes alive and end that 20-year major championship exile. 

Scotland versus England tends to be an occasion for dreamers. Hopefully at the end of affairs on Saturday night, those dreams will have come true.