Gordon’s blessed by a bunch of honest grafters

We might have lost the game, but there was much to like about Scotland’s performance at Wembley.

There is definitely a good spirit about the team under Gordon Strachan’s charge.

Given how low they players were after the World Cup losses to Wales, even in isolation that is encouraging.

I believe, though, that the main improvement lies in organisation.

Watch the game in London carefully, and you will notice the players are now closer together on the park.

That is not by chance.

When you are pressed for time and space by top teams such as England and Croatia, it is a huge help to be able to work short, sharp passes with team-mates.

These combinations can get you out of trouble, and allow you to stay in the game until an opportunity presents itself.

But it requires hard work.

The players who don’t have the ball have to be alert and willing to keep getting themselves in the positions from where they can offer an easy option.

They have to be intelligent, too, because they need to read the game and anticipate what is coming next.

Strachan is blessed in that he has no shortage of grafters in the team.

James Morrison, Scott Brown, Shaun Maloney, Robert Snodgrass, and James McArthur are midfielders who will all pretty much run themselves into the ground to help the national side.

And we all know about the terrific commitment of the absent Darren Fletcher.

I really like the look of this bit of the team. There is solidity about the group and a good balance.

Individually they are all players on the up, who are doing well for their respective clubs. As a unit, you get the feeling they will get better and better.

I don’t think it is fair to talk about work ethic without giving credit to Kenny Miller.

His goal as good, I believe, as he has ever scored for the national side was just the highlight of a tireless performance.

I do have concerns about the goals we conceded, however.

First, I think it is a failing of zonal marking that sometimes you will get instances where everyone abdicates responsibility for marking one particular player.

He then has a straightforward task to score.

Second, I am old-fashioned in that I believe you should station players on the posts at set pieces to protect the goalkeeper.

In saying that, we also have to acknowledge the strengths of the opposition.

England have an array of talent in their squad, and Roy Hodgson used his substitutes bench to good effect.

With their Under-21s very impressive in dismissing our youngsters on Tuesday night under his charge, it is a situation that is unlikely to change any time soon.