TIME will tell whether Gareth Southgate proves to be England’s weak link in tomorrow night’s crucial World Cup qualifier.

But Craig Brown feels he successfully managed to exploit the cultured central defender, England’s current interim manager, when Scotland went down to Wembley in 1999 and won the last truly competitive meeting between these two rivals. 

Having learned before the game that the Aston Villa player, and not the brawny Martin Keown, would partner Tony Adams in central defence for Kevin Keegan’s side, the wily Brown based his game plan around it.

While Kevin Gallacher was suspended anyway, Don Hutchison moved up top to make Southgate’s life a misery. Neil McCann was introduced out wide to provide the ammunition and the rest is history.

Hutchison’s headed strike provided the only goal on the night and had David Seaman not repelled a late Christian Dailly header, the Scots might have had momentum on their side going into extra time in this dramatic Euro 2000 play-off. 

“The goal at Wembley in ’99 is a wonderful memory,” said Brown, speaking at the recent Scottish Football Hall of Fame dinner, where he presented Gary McAllister with his award.

“And, of course, the Scotland support that night was so memorable too. The only regret I have of that night was missing the carnival atmosphere at half-time when I was in the dressing room with players! 

“I had actually changed the team,” he added. “Kevin Keegan made a mistake, in my opinion, by announcing his team before the game. When I saw Gareth Southgate was playing centre half, I decided to put Hutchison up front against him. 

“If Kevin hadn’t announced his team, I’d never have thought of it. But Hutchison was a hard so-and-so and I felt he could get at Southgate. He would fight, he’d back in, he’d snort. I said to our keeper, Neil Sullivan, to kick it up there for Hutchison to battle Southgate.

“I’d never say Southgate was soft but he was more of a footballer and I wanted Hutchison to get right on top of him. Big Don abused him for the whole game – he was squealing. I felt vindicated with the tactics the way the game turned out.”

In the end, the damage done in the first game at Hampden, where England ran out 2-0 winners courtesy of two fine late runs and finishes from Paul Scholes, proved insurmountable.

While that might have been a different matter if Paul Lambert had been available, in truth Scotland weren’t without chances in that first match, with Gallacher spurning a clear chance and Billy Dodds unfortunate to see a curling effort hit the underside of the bar. Barry Ferguson played superbly in both matches and there was the sense afterwards that Scotland deserved more out of the tie than they got.

“Tony Adams came up to me after the game and said ‘Your team was brilliant’,” recalled Brown. “I really respected him for that. Barry Ferguson was a young man but he ran the show against players of the quality of Paul Ince and Paul Scholes.”

It isn’t just the memories of the last truly competitive meeting between the teams which reinforces what a special fixture the meeting with the Auld Enemy is. Brown recalls being assistant to Andy Roxburgh back in 1988, and the enduring gratitude which came in the management team’s direction after handing Tommy Burns the chance to take on England. No wonder Scott Brown has decided his early international retirement is a bit of a waste.

“In the Rous Cup, when Andy Roxburgh was the manager, we played England at Wembley and I’ll never forget it,” said Brown. “England won 1-0 and Andy said to me with 20 minutes to go that we should get Tommy Burns warmed up. He couldn’t believe he was getting on to play against England at Wembley. It meant everything to him.

“I’ve never seen anything quite like it,” he added. “Before he went on, Tommy put his hands on Andy’s shoulders and said ‘You have given me my lifetime’s ambition’. There were tears in Tommy’s eyes and he said ‘Thank you very much – I’ll do everything I can for you’. I remember he played really well for those last 20 minutes. He created a couple of chances but we lost the game. 

“When an experienced pro like Tommy acts like that, it shows England at Wembley is an exceptional game for everybody.”

As for how tomorrow night’s meeting will pan out, Brown admits he has concerns about the lack of European experience in Gordon Strachan’s side, a crucial middle ground between domestic and international play. At least his namesake Scott is back in the fold, along with the likes of James Forrest.

“It’s a tragedy Kieran Tierney is injured and will miss this game because he’s had European experience for Celtic this season,” said Brown. 

“Europe is a real stepping stone between domestic football and international football. It has always been important.“In the past, I had the likes of Paul Lambert and Gary McAllister who both won European competitions with their clubs,” he added.

“I had Celtic players who went on to play in a European final in Seville and Rangers players who were playing regularly in Europe. That is something which is sadly lacking in this squad, even among good players like Matt Ritchie and Ikechi Anya. Callum Paterson gained some European experience this season and, although they lost, he has played at a good level.”