Kevin Gallacher never did manage to get the last laugh. The striker was part of the Scotland squad that met England at Euro 96 and again as part of Craig Brown's pool that missed out on Euro 2000 after losing 2-1 on aggregate in a play-off with the Auld Enemy.

Brown's men claimed a moral victory over Kevin Keegan's side when they won 1-0 at Wembley through Don Hutchinson's header, but it wasn't enough to cancel out a Paul Scholes double from the Hampden leg.

Gallacher was suspended for that second tie and had to take the game in from the stand, kicking every ball as Scotland threw everything at David Seaman on a bitterly cold November night.

"My outstanding memory of that night is Christian Dailly's header near the end of the game that was saved by Seaman when we all thought it was going in," he said.

"Had that gone in, I think there is no doubt we would actually have gone on to win the tie because we really took them by surprise that night."

Wednesday night's game has no real prize other than pride at stake.

While Roy Hodgson's side will have one eye on Brazil next summer, Scotland are still in the early stages of rebuilding a fragile psyche after more than a decade of watching the big shows pass them by.

It has been a long road since that play-off defeat at Wembley with various managers and a plethora of players passing through the corridors of Hampden, with disappointment featuring high on repeated agendas.

However, the victory over Croatia in June has injected a little bit of belief into the Scotland squad, although boss Gordon Strachan is doubtless well aware of just how high the mountain ahead still is for his side.

Gallacher, though, knows full well that a decent result at Wembley would go a considerable way to helping Scotland continue their upwards journey.

"You can say that it's just a friendly but when you play England you always bust a gut to get a result," he said.

"I do think the game probably means more to Scotland just now than it does to England. It has barely warranted a mention down here but at the same time it would be a marvellous result if Scotland were to get anything.

"I spent most of my playing career down in England and it is brutal going back to your club after a defeat to them. There are a lot of boys now in the Scotland squad in the same boat and they'll know that if they can go back with a decent result to their clubs they'll be walking high."

Gallacher is candid enough to admit there is no-one in Strachan's squad liable to arouse any fear within the England squad.

There are no world-beaters, no player you could look to as providing that extra bit of quality or creativity.

Yet, he believes that under Strachan there are indications the team is returning to a traditional way of playing - and a method that got results.

"There isn't anyone that the English boys will really know about," he said.

"But as a nation, we have traditionally had to rely on team spirit and hard work to carry us forward.

"Yes, there has been good players in Scotland squads but I would say that, compared to England and the resources they have, we have always had to rely on other attributes.

"In recent games we have seen Scotland work their socks off to close down their opponents, to stifle the other team on the ball and to stop them playing. That is the way we'll have to approach it against England."

While England seem to head into every major tournament believing they will return victorious only to struggle once they're there, Gallacher believes they have a squad full of world-class talent.

Whether or not they can marry that ability to create a fluent and cohesive unit that is capable of beating the very best remains to be seen, but Gallacher does expect that Scotland will benefit from playing against a strong England squad.

"I suppose we have to wait and see what kind of team turns up - for both sides," he said. "If England have their strongest XI available, which they won't have on Wednesday night, then they are quite formidable.

"We will need to see just how seriously both managers take the game, but I do think it can be a good learning curve for many of the Scottish boys.

"If we want to get ourselves back to the level where we are competing and getting to major tournaments then this is the calibre of opponent you have to be able to perform against."