SCOTLAND might not have a Wayne Rooney or a Gareth Bale to call on, but they will still present England with a stiffer test than anyone in their Euro 2016 qualifying group, says Dave Bassett, the man whose self-styled Crazy Gang at Wimbledon showed little respect to more vaunted individual opponents.
"It's going to be a really hard game for England, infinitely harder than against Slovenia," said Bassett. "Scotland have always lived off the Jim Baxter and Denis Law days but I don't think they have a player who they regard as world class. So Gordon [Strachan] has gone for a more pragmatic approach.
"England's problem is they've built Rooney up into a world-class player and he's definitely the best they've got. You do get big stars in international football but that doesn't mean you can't have success without it.
"England's group is a joke," he added. "If there's ever a time to be the England manager it's now. You could win them with a cigar in your mouth. People are telling me Switzerland are a top-eight team in the world. Are you joking? Maybe at skiing but certainly not at football. England's problem is going to be how they do when they play the Scots and other teams in friendlies."
The received wisdom in Group D is that it is only a matter of time before world champions Germany assert themselves at the top of the section but Bassett is not so sure. So highly does he regard Scotland, Poland and the Republic of Ireland that he is prepared to think the unthinkable and suggest that Joachim Loew's side could yet find themselves squeezed out of qualifying.
"I've got a sneaky feeling they might come unstuck," said Bassett. "I think you might find they don't qualify. They've lost [Per] Mertesacker and [Philipp] Lahm and they are really experienced players. All of a sudden, some of these younger players are coming in and having to cope with the expectation that they are the world champions.
"They've lost to Poland, drawn with Ireland and didn't play well against Scotland. So their results haven't gone well. They've got to get themselves sorted out."
The next competitive assignment for Gordon Strachan's Scotland comes against Gibraltar in March, but Bassett feels the inclusion of such minnows is in danger of diluting the international game. "I think we've sort of debased international football by letting so many teams in," he said. "I mean: the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar? It's ridiculous.
"These teams wouldn't even come anywhere in the Scottish Third Division. I'm not being funny but East Stirling would give Scotland a better game than Gibraltar will.
"I like international football but I like it to be competitive," he added. "The good thing with Scotland and England, or England playing the Republic, is there's a little bit more to it. There's always that bit where they want to beat each other."
The closest Bassett ever came to tasting the rivalry of meetings with the Auld Enemy was travelling to Clyde with England Amateurs. "I remember playing up there at Clyde and we won 3-0 but it was a right hard game," he said. "There was one mad centre-half who kicked one of our players on the head . . . but he probably deserved it."
Dave Bassett is a member of the League Managers Association (LMA), of which the Old Course Hotel in St Andrews is a corporate partner.
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