Russell Martin has revealed that many of his English friends and team-mates find Scotland more entertaining to watch than Roy Hodgson's side.
The Brighton-born defender will line up against the country of his birth tomorrow night when Scotland welcome England to Celtic Park for their first home fixture against the Auld Enemy since 1999.
Martin, who qualifies through his Scottish father, has become a mainstay in Gordon Strachan's defence and helped them to another clean sheet in Friday night's pivotal Euro 2016 qualifying victory over the Republic of Ireland. The Norwich City player's involvement has led to many of his English friends tuning in to his international matches and quite a few now prefer watching Scotland's exciting rebirth under Strachan than England's often laborious performances under Hodgson.
"To be honest I have had so many texts from friends and fellow players who say they genuinely enjoy watching Scotland more than England at the minute," he said. "That is a massive compliment and it's true. A lot of my friends have said that. They all watch our games, if I'm involved, and they really like how we play. I've had loads of compliments about our team. And we are enjoying that too. That shows you how far this team has come.
"I'm sure the England staff will be aware of how well we are doing. I think they know they are in for a tough game. They will be concerned. And if we beat them, I will be giving them stick for a long, long time."
Another English-born Scot who won't be featuring tomorrow night is Steven Fletcher. The striker sustained an ankle injury in Friday night's 1-0 win over the Irish at Celtic Park and left the ground with a moonboot on for protection. He had a scan on Saturday and is now awaiting the extent of the damage. "Hopefully, it won't be too bad," he said. "It's my ankle. Aiden [McGeady] tackled me and I just rolled it. When I came off at half-time it had swollen up a little bit and so I couldn't carry on."
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