Charlie Mulgrew hopes he has booked Scotland spot to face England

Charlie Mulgrew brought as assuredness to Scotlands defence against Slovenia. Picture: AFP/Getty

Martin, of course, scored the winning goal, Armstrong’s introduction to international football was utterly stellar and Tierney coped superbly when asked to move from left-back to right-back.

However, the re-emergence of Charlie Mulgrew in a centre-back role was almost as impressive and it could hardly have been more well-timed for manager Gordon Strachan.

Mulgrew, of course, is a good footballer who is comfortable in a number of positions and can play passes with admirable accuracy while also possessing a real threat from set-pieces.

However, he can also defend and he brought an assuredness to the national team in the 1-0 victory over Slovenia playing beside Russell Martin which surely bodes well for the 10 June meeting with England at Hampden.

It was Mulgrew’s first World Cup-tie for nearly four years, having been overlooked for the previous four matches in the Russia 2018 campaign but he is surely a certainty to retain his place for the vital clash with Gareth Southgate’s side.

The irony is he has replaced Grant Hanley in the Blackburn Rovers side and now he has taken his slot in Strachan’s team.

Hanley has made only three Championship appearance since his £5million move to Newcastle  United while Mulgrew plays every week, even if Rovers are fighting to stay in that division.

Mulgrew hopes he has re-confirmed his international credentials after Sunday’s performance. He said: “Hopefully, that’s the case. To be honest, I don’t pay much attention to the speculation and talk about that kind of stuff. I just try and do a job whenever I am picked to play.

“I was aware I would be playing centre-half and my job was to keep things tight and, hopefully, play a wee bit from the back. We protected Craig Gordon pretty well but that starts from the front. It’s not just about the back couple of players.

“I feel Russell [Martin] and I have a good understanding. We have played a few times together and I think we understand each other’s games. I suppose there is a good partnership there but we will move onto the next match and approach it in whatever way the manager sees fit. Whether I am playing for my club or my country, I need to go into each game 100 per cent focused.

“I love playing for my country and my club. It’s good that both are going reasonably well at the moment.”

One of the other salient points from the Slovenia game was the willingness of the players to work for a manager who, in all likelihood, would have been removed or resigned had they lost that game.

Mulgrew added: “We like the manager and love everything he does. He is a top, top manager. It is up to us to win the games on the park.

“We know our instructions. They are clear instructions. We have to carry them out. We did that against Slovenia and we will try and do that again in the next game.”