IKECHI ANYA believes Scotland have what it takes to beat England tomorrow night and end a winless streak at home that stretches back almost 30 years.
Not since Richard Gough's goal secured a narrow Rous Cup victory in 1985 have Scotland triumphed over the Auld Enemy on home soil but, on the back of a confidence-boosting victory over the Republic of Ireland, Anya feels Gordon Strachan's side can finish 2014 on a high by delivering a win over England at Celtic Park.
"We go into every game thinking we can win, especially when we are at home," said the Watford winger. "We will be back at Celtic Park again. The atmosphere was electric on Friday night and that will be even more the case on Tuesday after the confidence we take from [Friday] night's game. We will go into the match looking to win.
"It is very important to keep the momentum going. Winning is a habit and we need to keep trying to win. So far we are doing well. We have two victories in the qualifying campaign and we will keep on progressing and hopefully get a good result against England.
"It is going to be a test for us but we have had tests before this. Germany are a very good team as are Poland. We performed well in Germany and we got a good result in Poland. You go into any game full of confidence and Tuesday won't be any different."
Anya admitted he had not rubbed shoulders with many of the players he could face tomorrow night. "The majority of the English players are in the Premiership and I am a Championship player at the moment," he added. "I haven't really bumped into any of them but it will be a good contest to see where you are in the footballing world.
"The momentum and self-confidence from the win against Ireland is great but had we lost we would have gone into the game in the same way and that would be looking to have a good night on Tuesday."
Anya feels Celtic Park will provide the perfect backdrop having been blown away by his experience there on Friday night.
"It surpassed my expectations. As soon as the national anthems started you could feel the fans were really up for it. That set the tone and we knew we needed to deliver.
"My mum and some friends were at the game. On Tuesday my mum and my brother will be at the game. She is a great fan and it will be great to have my family there."
Steven Whittaker is another England-based player who is looking forward to the contest and hoped a victory would serve as a morale-booster for the remainder of the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign.
"That is the plan," said the defender. "We obviously want the result. England are right up there with the top teams but we have competed against Germany and drawn in Poland.
"We need to go into the game with a positive mentality as we have competed against good sides. The personnel [in the England squad] is similar to the last time we faced them at Wembley. The squad has not changed that much since then. I thoroughly enjoyed that game as well. We gave a good account of ourselves and were a little bit disappointed to not take something from that game. I think there is maybe a little bit more belief in the team since we went to Wembley. The momentum and run we have been on since the manager came in has given us confidence. It all feels positive."
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