KEVIN Gallacher believes Charlie Mulgrew can help to solve Scotland’s centre half problems in their remaining World Cup qualifying games after watching him shine there for Blackburn Rovers.

Mulgrew netted the only goal of the match when Rovers played Newcastle United at Ewood Park on Monday afternoon – the second time in five weeks he has scored the winner against the same opponents.

The second-half strike against the St. James’s Park club, who surrendered top spot in the Sky Bet Championship to Brighton as a result of the 1-0 loss, was the highlight of another polished display by the versatile player.

The 30-year-old has missed all four of his country’s Russia 2018 qualifiers - against Malta, Lithuania, Slovakia and England – this season due to a lack of competitive football initially and then a calf injury after that.

However, Gallacher, the former Blackburn and Scotland striker whose goals helped to secure a place at France ‘98, is confident that Mulgrew can be a key player in our remaining Group F fixtures.

The 24-times capped internationalist’s return to form will certainly have been warmly welcomed by Scotland manager Gordon Strachan.

His first choice centre backs Grant Hanley and Russell Martin have not been playing regularly for Newcastle United and Norwich City respectively and his side has struggled as a result.

“I definitely think Charlie can do a job for Scotland now," said Gallacher. "I don’t see any reason why not. He hadn’t played enough games for Blackburn before the England match at Wembley and wasn’t picked for the initial Scotland squad. I could understand why Gordon overlooked him to begin with. He was still working his way back to full fitness.

“But he has played quite a few games now in the Championship and I think when the next squad is announced he will be in it if he maintains his form and stays fit. If you are playing regularly then it gives you a better chance of featuring. Sadly, that is not something that all of our central defenders are doing."

He added: “I knew what to expect from Charlie. I’ve watched him throughout his international career and knew exactly what Blackburn were getting. I knew that if he steered clear of injuries and stayed fit that Blackburn were getting a clever and intelligent footballer.

“I had also seen him play superbly alongside Scott Brown in central midfield for Celtic in the Champions League for a couple of seasons. I knew from that that Blackburn were getting a very good player.

“Blackburn have had one or two injuries and Charlie has had to move around the team to cover for them. He has played at left back, left centre half and on the left of midfield in the short time that he’s been here. His versatility has been very beneficial.

“Players often want to concentrate on one position and don’t like being shunted around the park, but Charlie has been steady and reliable wherever he has been used. He has mainly played at centre half or in central midfield.

“I think Charlie has such confidence in his own ability that he will sometimes dwell on the ball slightly too long and give a striker a chance to nick the ball off him. But that is a minor criticism that I would have of him. He has been extremely consistent and effective.

“Charlie is a very good reader of the game and plays with great composure. He is naturally left-footed as well and can help with the balance of the team. He is also, as we saw on Monday when he scored with a free-kick, dangerous in dead ball situations. He ticks an awful lot of boxes and I can understand why Gordon is an admirer of his.”

Gallacher works as a pundit for BBC Radio Lancashire now and attends Blackburn games on a regular basis and has also been impressed with Gordon Greer since the Scotland centre half signed for them on a free transfer in the summer.

He feels the understanding that Greer, who has only been on the losing side in one of his 11 appearances for his country, and Mulgrew have struck up at the back this season can be harnessed by Scotland when they play Slovenia and England at Hampden in March and June respectively.

“Charlie has played alongside Gordon at centre half and at left back,” he said. “They are two players with vast experience. The understanding that they have struck up at Blackburn could be beneficial for Scotland. Gordon has done well At Blackburn since coming in.

“You have to be careful with Gordon because he’s about 105 years old now. Seriously, though, he is doing well because he is being managed properly by the manager. He is training when he can and resting when he needs to.

“There is no doubt that Scotland need their centre backs to be playing regularly. Grant Hanley hasn’t been featuring since moving to Newcastle and that doesn’t help him when it comes to playing with Scotland. The same is true of Russell Martin at Norwich. You definitely want your centre backs to be playing regularly and Gordon and Charlie are.”

Blackburn are battling to avoid relegation from the Championship this season amid a backdrop of continuing unrest. Supporters are unhappy with Indian owners Venky’s and protested both before and after the Newcastle game this week.

The hard-fought win on Monday edged Owen Coyle’s side nearer to climbing out of the drop zone and Gallacher is hopeful they can build on the result in the coming weeks and avoid slipping down to the third tier of the English game.

“I would like to think Blackburn can use the Newcastle victory as a catalyst to go on a winning run, but they got the same result in November and didn’t win one of their next six games,” he said. “Hopefully, they can push on this time.

“But the statistics aren’t very encouraging. They had one shot on target and five shots on goal all together. That shows you how they are approaching games. They are sitting back and defending and looking to hit teams on the break. They have been battered by Newcastle twice, but have kept clean sheets twice and won twice.

They have to do that more in the second half of the season and win games by hook or by crook if they want to stay up. Blackburn had 33 per cent possession to Newcastle’s 67 per cent possession.

“There has been unrest around the club regarding the owners for some time. It doesn’t seem to be going away. The fans were protesting again the other day. But that isn’t an issue for the players as long as their wages are being paid.”