THE only thing Mick Channon liked about Scotland was beating us on the football field. On the surface not an awful lot has changed.

“I love beating the Jocks,” was his honest and open admission back in the 1970s when, as a fearsome striker for Southampton and England, he was one of those with three lions on their chest who raised their game whenever even he saw one red lion on a dark blue jersey.

Channon scored a few goals, won, lost and drew games, and never gave anything other than his all in the annual Auld Enemy love-in.

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And let’s be honest about this; more than a few Scottish fans rather reluctantly admired Channon. After all, why is it that us Jocks can say whatever we want about our Sassenach neighbours and yet recoil at even the slightest hint of criticism when it comes from the other side of Hadrian’s Wall?

So who better to discuss what the Scotland-England games meant and still mean.

Channon, now 67, phones from his stables in Newbury, a hugely successful career as a racehorse trainer has arguably overshadowed everything he achieved on the playing field. That West Country accent is as thick as ever, his passion for how football should be played has not diminished at all and his memories of taking on the Jocks, never the Scots or Scotland, are as fresh as they were in 1976.

“Every time I go up to Scotland, the first thing that gets mentioned to me is bloody Tam Forsyth’s tackle on me 40 years ago; “says Channon with a chuckle. “I’m plodding on a bit now, that’s a lifetime ago, and you lot keep bringing it up.”

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To be fair it was some challenge. Channon was heading clean through on goal at Hampden, it was 2-1 to the Scots with just minutes to go, and big Tam got his leg around him to win the ball inside the penalty box when a goal looked an absolute certainty. It would have been his second after his 11th minute opener.

“Tam only got one tackle in on me ever in all our times playing against one another and that was it,” said Channon. “He could never get close to me until that day and he robbed me of a goal. To make it worse, you lot went on to win with Kenny Dalglish putting that trundler through the legs of Ray Clemence.

“Ray apologised afterwards in the dressing room and admitted he should have kept his legs shut. I told him that his mother should have done that.”

And we’re off, as they say in Channon's world of racing. The stories come thick and fast, the recollections sprinkled more than likely with a bit of fairy dust, but it’s a great listen to all the same.

“I scored in the Centenary game in 1973 when we won 5-0 at Hampden,” recalled Channon a tad unnecessarily. “I got the third on a freezing night. The Scotland team were so sick they didn’t turn up for the post-match banquet. Not one of them. That was brilliant.

“I played in the 5-1 game at Wembley a few years later when the big goalie (Stewart Kennedy) nearly knocked himself out at one of the goals.

“I had my bad days as well. I played in 1977 when all the Jocks came on the pitch at the end. I scored, as it happened, but it meant nothing. There is more of the old Wembley in Scotland than there is in England.

“The matches at Wembley were great. The Jocks would start to arrive on Wednesday in their kilt and those hats they wear, and you would see them sleeping in doorways after night on the drink. Every cliché was there.”

Channon loved the fixture and will be avid viewer and supporter on Friday night, despite the fact international football leaves him cold these days.

“The British Championship was brilliant,” he said. “Every match be it Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland was tough. You were desperate to win and so were they. They were proper games and never easy.

“They have ruined international football now. It’s lukewarm. I don’t understand why anyone would want to watch the games apart from in finals. I know I don’t. This will be different because it’s a World Cup qualifier and because of who is playing.”

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Channon actually has a soft spot for us Jocks. Just because he liked beating us doesn’t mean he didn’t have hold some affection.

“It began with the great Jock Stein for me. Now there was a man,” he says. “Then you had Bill Shankly, Matt Busby and Tommy Docherty. All great characters and loud as well. Big Jock Wallace, who was at Rangers when I played, was the craziest of the lot.”

And what about players? Who was the one from the other side he admired the most?

“Jim Baxter was just before my time. I would have loved to have played against him because he was something else. I remember that game in 1967 when you lot became the world champions. Jim was sensational that day. What a talent.”

Channon actually believes Scotland have more than a chance of winning on Friday. It is clear he doesn’t think much of the current England side and maybe, just maybe, this most English of Englishmen wouldn’t be too upset about a Scotland victory.

“Wee Gordon has played in these games, he knows what they are like and what it means, so he’s going to have the players well up for it,” said Channon. “Scotland will get smashed into England and have a chance, of course they do.

“At least we will see some f****** passion in the game. That was always there when we played the Jocks, at Hampden or Wembley, and it will be good to see it back.”