Scotland assistant manager Mark McGhee has backed Gareth Southgate to take over World Cup Qualifying Group F rivals England from disgraced former boss Sam Allardyce.

McGhee doesn’t think that the scandal which led to Allardyce leaving as manager of the Three Lions will have a destabilising effect on the side, rating Southgate as a safe pair of hands who will command respect from the players.

“I suppose I’d expect the players to roll up their sleeves,” McGhee said.

“Gareth Southgate is a very popular character. He’s a very likeable guy and I think the players will rally for him on his behalf, so I’m not sure it has any real impact on the outcome of the game at Wembley, I really don’t.

“Gareth has been around the FA and around the scene to know all of the players intimately and personally, so he’ll know who the best players are.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up the manager, because I think he’s been around enough that if he gets any sort of good start then he gets the job.”

Meanwhile, McGhee has praised Hearts goalkeeper Jack Hamilton, who he will come up against with Motherwell tomorrow night, after the young stopper again earned a place in the latest Scotland squad.

“We like him a lot," he said. "He’s a terrific character in the sense that he’s not like one of these effervescent lads that is the life and soul of the party, but he’s always got a smile on his face and he’s always very positive.

“The one thing we feel about him coming away with the Scotland squad is that he’s very excited about being involved.

“He’s enthusiastic, he’s a good kicker and a good goalkeeper, and I do like him. We’re going to have to try hard to get past him.

“Robbie has seen something in him and taken a punt on him and I think he’s paid him back for that. He’s improving all the time and he’ll be difficult for us to get past on Saturday.”