Scotland boss Strachan salutes 'fantastic' England display

Beaten Scotland were "spooked" by England in Tuesday's friendly, said manager Gordon Strachan before describing the visitors as the best side his squad had faced since he took charge last year.

Wayne Rooney (two) and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored as England maintained their impressive record against the Auld Enemy, winning 3-1 to chalk up a seventh victory in nine meetings.

Roy Hodgson's team have not been beaten on Scottish soil in four games since a 1-0 defeat at Hampden Park in 1985.

[MATCH REPORT: SCOTLAND 1-3 ENGLAND]

International friendlies

Jack Grealish rejects Ireland call-up

12/05/2015 at 14:14

"I have to say that was probably the best performance against us tonight for a very long time," Strachan said.

"The intensity that England played at, the way they played and the pace without the ball especially was fantastic - and it kind of spooked my players.

"They are a team full of Champions League players and they showed that tonight," added Strachan. "I thought they were fantastic."

Scotland manager Gordon Strachan (AFP)

Image credit: AFP

The Scotland boss said his team were probably tired in their second international in five days, having played a Euro 2016 qualifier last week.

"We might have been mentally fatigued after playing on Friday, and that's something we need to look at, but a feature of our game tonight was giving the ball away under pressure," he explained.

"We are disappointed by our performance but the priority was getting three points against Ireland on Friday."

Hodgson was delighted with England's show as they made it six wins out of six since their dismal World Cup showing in June.

"We showed our intentions from the off, started the game very well and I can't think of many periods in the game when we were losing control -- and some of the attacking movements in particular were very good," he said.

Hodgson praised captain Rooney as he rose to third on England's scoring list with 46 goals in 101 appearances.

Only Bobby Charlton (49) and Gary Lineker (48) have scored more than Rooney who started the night level with Jimmy Greaves.

"I think milestones and records are important and it must be nice for him to think that if he carries on this way he will soon see his name at the top of the list," said Hodgson.

"He also has a record number of caps in his sights but if he wants to catch that he will have to keep his fitness and form and keep playing for a few more years." 

International friendlies

College player Jordan Morris scores USA's win over Mexico

16/04/2015 at 07:19

International friendlies

Neymar continues war of words with Gary Medel: 'I don't know who he is'

01/04/2015 at 17:27

International friendlies

Wayne Rooney praises 'great character' in England's Turin revival

01/04/2015 at 15:05