Davie Provan - Scotland can give England a run for their money because Celtic's players feel invincible right now

Six of the Parkhead side's unbeaten treble winners are in the squad for the meeting against the Auld Enemy at Hampden Park with Craig Gordon, Scott Brown, Stuart Armstrong, Kieran Tierney and Leigh Griffiths all almost certain to start, and James Forrest vying with Bournemouth's Ryan Fraser for the right wing berth.

Scotland haven't beaten England in a home match for 32 years but the former Celtic winger reckons this club form means Scotland will be anything but intimidated. He feels they have a great chance of recording the win which would kick start their unlikely hopes of qualifying for Russia - assuming they can get the first goal.

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"I would expect Gordon to pick the Celtic players," said Provan, speaking at a William Hill event at the national stadium. "The one doubt is whether James Forrest starts or Ryan Fraser. But the backbone of the team I would expect to be Celtic boys. They are in a really good place right now and they probably feel that nobody can beat them at the moment. It's like England, the Tottenham players make up the backbone of their team. It makes sense to get as many club partnerships into your team as possible.

"They are playing Champions League football and you could argue that Champions League football is a higher standard than international football," he added. "And looking throughout our team, I don't think our boys will be intimidated in the slightest this weekend. People talk about Charlie Mulgrew being a League One player but he's played international football and Champions League football. He won't be worried about facing Harry Kane. He will know he is up against a good player but he won't be spooked by it.

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"We need to score first. We started well in Slovakia but lost a goal and collapsed. We started even better at Wembley but lost a goal and it went pear-shaped. But I think if we score first we have a great chance. If we do that, we will have something to hold onto. But if we lose the first goal it will be a whole different ball-game."

Provan's big moment in this fixture came at Wembley in May 1981, when an England side featuring European Cup winners like Tony Woodcock and Trevor Francis, and future ones such as Peter Withe, were licking their lips about facing a Scotland side deprived of Alan Hansen, Graeme Souness and Kenny Dalglish - all of whom were preparing for a European Cup final themselves. But this under-estimated outfit defied everything England had to throw at them until, just after the hour mark, Provan threaded the cutest of passes inside makeshift centre back Bryan Robson, whose touch encouraged Steve Archibald to go to ground. John Robertson swept in the penalty and Scotland had a famous Wembley win.

“The head of the FA at that time was a guy called Ted Croker and because there had been trouble at Wembley in previous Auld Enemy games they had tried to ban the Scottish fans,” recalled Provan. “There were no tickets sold in Scotland and we were told that there would be no Scotland supporters but when we walked out the tunnel it was just a sea of Lion Rampants. Stevie was clever, he could see Bryan Robson coming and he waited for him to commit himself. I know the England boys were unhappy at the time but I thought it was a stonewaller.”

Provan knows this as a ‘must-win’ fixture for Gordon Strachan’s side if they are to retain any hopes of qualifying for Russia. He is a huge admirer of many members of this England side - not least Kane, who he feels is destined to become a striking great - and feels that a Scotland victory would be the kind of signature win not delivered since that fateful sweep of James McFadden’s left boot in Paris a decade ago. What time like the present to keep the campaign trucking on to Lithuania and render all speculation suggesting Davie Moyes was being lined up as a potential managerial replacement meaningless?

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“Taken in isolation, had it been the first game of the campaign, we would have been happy with a draw against England,” said Provan. “But given the circumstances, I don’t think that is going to be good enough. Were we to lose at the weekend, I think Gordon would make the decision as to whether he wants to continue or not. There are one or two candidates [to replace him] but Gordon is in a job at the moment and hopefully with a Scotland win he will be in the job on Saturday night as well. It is all down to Saturday, you can condense it all down to that.

“And I don’t remember our last big win, one we really had to win. Maybe the Republic of Ireland at home. But this would be absolutely monumental - up there with McFadden in Paris, and Gary Caldwell here against France. I don’t know why but I have a feeling we will do all right on Saturday. Whether it will be enough to beat a very good England team I don’t know. But a must win clears the head. Our boys know what they have to do.”

**Davie Provan was speaking at a William Hill media event. William Hill is a proud sponsor of Scottish football.**