Poll: Wilshere confident England can handle the Celtic cauldron

Celltic Park will tomorrow night host the latest instalment of a contest that first took place in 1872 and the Three Lions squad have been warned to expect a hostile atmosphere.

The meeting, the 112th between the two countries, will be something of a throwback to the days when England-Scotland clashes were the most keenly fought of any season.

Such has been the strength of rivalry in the past that even Sir Alf Ramsey was moved to reply: “You must be f****** joking” when met on arrival by a Scottish journalist whose first words had been: “Welcome to Glasgow”.

Times have, of course, changed with the annual meeting of the ‘Auld Enemy’ having been consigned to the dustbin of history since 1989 with just three meetings having taken place in the past quarter-of-a-century.

Wilshere, however, is adamant that the current England side feel the rivalry just as much as their predecessors.

He said: “It is not going to be very friendly, but we are going to be ready for that. It is going to be a bit like Arsenal vs Tottenham or Liverpool vs Manchester United. But we are used to that as players.

“We played them here a couple of years ago and it wasn’t friendly then. It is probably going to be a little bit tougher this time because they will be even more up for it in their home ground. But we’ll be ready for it.”

Wilshere has past experience of just how passionate Parkhead can be, albeit on a night when it was Celtic who were in the home dressing room and not the Scottish national side.

He was a substitute as the Gunners triumphed in the Champions League so knows what to expect.

That tomorrow night will be something of a cauldron for the visitors was apparent on Friday night as the locals roared Scotland to a vital Euro 2016 qualifying victory over the Republic of Ireland at the home of the Scottish champions.

Asked if the fixture had the same meaning for the current generation, Wilshere said: “Yes, of course. And even if it didn’t, we have got a manager who has been around for a few years and who knows what England versus Scotland is all about.

“When he gave us a speech about England versus Scotland, he explained how back in the day it was the highlight of the season.

“It has always been a big game and we know that. If we needed a reminder, then we got it a couple of seasons ago.

“If we were going into that expecting a bit of a friendly, then we definitely didn’t get that. We’ll be ready. It is a game that everyone is going to be desperate to play in. These are the games that every England player wants to be involved with.

“If you ask any member of my family, they’ll always say, ‘England v Scotland – that’s going to be a massive game with a great atmosphere’.”

Another member of the squad that is set to travel north today and who is desperate to play is goalkeeper Fraser Forster.

With Roy Hodgson revealing that Joe Hart will not make the trip to Glasgow, the Southampton goalkeeper, who spent four years at Celtic, is in line for a rare start.

He said: “It would be a fantastic opportunity if it is me that gets to play. It will be a fantastic atmosphere, and to play in an England v Scotland game would be a dream come true.

“I have been fortunate enough to sample it (the Celtic Park atmosphere) at club level, and even the Barcelona players came out and said it was the best atmosphere they had ever experienced after they played there in the Champions League.It is a unique kind of atmosphere, and it’ll be something to look forward to for everyone involved.

“It is a fantastic stadium, and I’m sure it will be really loud. It should just be the making of a fantastic game.”

England go into tomorrow’s meeting with their oldest rival on the back of a 100 per cent winning start to qualifying for Euro 2016.

Saturday’s 3-1 victory over Slovenia may have been a lacklustre affair for all but the final half-hour or so but Wilshere insists the result was the main thing. “We are delighted to keep the run going and are really happy with the win. It is obviously disappointing to have conceded because we wanted to keep that record of having gone seven games without conceding a goal. But we are happy.

“We showed our character when we went one down. We never really panicked. The goal Slovenia scored was a bit of a shock, but we never panicked and I was always confident we could create chances.”