I’ve arrived in London and I can’t wait for the game on Friday night.
We don’t have tickets but watching the match with other Scots is something I’ve been looking forward to for ages.
I think half of Dundee will be here!
Of course it would have been better to be going into it on the back of a win or a draw.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t get to the last-16 the hard way or that we can’t get a result at Wembley.
I described the Czech Republic fixture as a ‘must not lose’ and I stick by that.
To get one point or all three we needed to be a bit less cautious with our team selection and our tactics.
You’ll certainly not hear me jumping on any bandwagons of blaming anybody, though.
That goes for Steve Clarke – who got us to these finals with previous team selections and tactics.
And it certainly goes for David Marshall, who was the hero in Belgrade.
The Czech Republic's wonder goal analysed….
📲💻📺 Reaction: https://t.co/gH42HDCam6#bbceuro2020 #euro2020 pic.twitter.com/jLFCPMDd5t
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) June 14, 2021
Everybody has had their say on the second Czech goal – which was a wonder strike from a player who was signed by Bayer Leverkusen for the best part of 30 million euros.
Marshy has clearly taken up a high position to be able to react if the ball is cleared in a normal fashion into his half.
From my own point of view, I would probably only have been around 10 yards outside my box but he could well have been under instructions to be further forward.
It’s much more common than in my day.
Marshy isn’t one of those sweeper keepers like Neuer, Alisson or Ederson who you expect to see getting involved as an extra outfield player, which makes me think that this has been something Scotland have worked on in the training ground.
What I can tell you is that he had a great game before and after that incredible finish.
And I can also tell you that he won’t be fazed by what happened.
I’d be amazed if he was dropped for Wembley and neither should he be.
You would expect there to be a couple of outfield changes, though – Che Adams has to start this time.
We need our big players, particularly in midfield, to produce their best this time.
That didn’t happen for me at Hampden.
There was nothing special about England’s performance against Croatia and if we can keep it at 0-0 for a bit longer than the Croats managed, then you’ll see the pressure build and their fans getting restless.
This is a good group of Scotland players and I’m expecting a big response.
Charlie Mulgrew is an excellent first signing for Tam Courts.
For a young manager who will be looking to make a mark, recruiting someone of Charlie’s quality and stature sends out a great message.
He was a boy at Celtic when I was there but he’s gone on to have an excellent career.
He’ll cover a couple of positions and the delivery he can produce with cross-field passes and balls into the box is top class.
You can never have too many leaders in a dressing room – and Dundee United have definitely got one more of them now.
