Failure to experiment is a missed opportunity

Southgate has chance to run rule over Euros wannabes but will make minimum changes

- Dan Kilpatrick

HARRY KANE needled some Tottenham supporters last week when he described feeling "a different pressure" at Bayern Munich.

Speaking ahead of England's draw with Ukraine, Kane explained that "it wasn't a disaster" for Spurs to go two games without winning, but at his new club, the perennial Bundesliga champions, even a comfortable win was deemed unacceptable if the performance was not up to scratch.

Kane could easily have added that the same scrutiny also applies to England, who are under a degree of pressure to avoid back-to-back games without a win in tonight's friendly against Scotland at Hampden Park.

Gareth Southgate's side were positively breezing through European Championship qualifying with four consecutive wins, including over Italy in Naples, before a first blip against Ukraine prompted all the familiar grumblings with the manager to resurface: Southgate is too negative, too unwilling to experiment, too loyal to senior players, too slow to react in games.

"We kind of know the cycle frankly with England," Southgate said here about the reaction to Saturday's 1-1 draw. "I've been in the job long enough now. It's constant, never ending."