SCOTLAND'S football relationship with Northern Ireland was, for many years simple - facing our closest international neighbours was an almost-guaranteed win. The annual game, whether at Hampden or Windsor Park was one of the few in which, Scotland was the "big" team.
In the early days of the fixture, the SFA had worked-out that, when the Irish game (against the whole of our neighbouring island back then) came around, we could virtually pick 11 names of current, Scottish-based players out of the Chairman of the Selection Committee's lum hat and still be guaranteed a win, usually with goals to spare.
Boy were we arrogant back then. It is worth remembering that the selection of the immortal Wembley Wizards owed much to dissatisfaction with the performance and outcome of the previous international.
At Celtic Park, on 25 February, 1928, we lost 0-1 to the Irish. The Scottish team that day was: Alan McClory (Motherwell), Jock Hutton (Blackburn Rovers), Willie McStay (Celtic), Tommy Muirhead (captain), Davie Meiklejohn and Tully Craig (all Rangers), Henry Ritchie and Jimmy Dunn (both Hibs), Jimmy McGrory (Celtic), George Stevenson (Motherwell) and Alan Morton (Rangers). The great McGrory, by the way, was making his Scotland debut that day.
When Scotland next played, against England at Wembley, five weeks later, only Dunn and Morton survived to become immortals after a 5-1 win.
Several Scots have filled their boots with goals against the Irish, Billy Steel and Denis Law, both of whom would be on the short leet for the number 10 jersey in any all-time Scottish team, both posted four-goal hauls against the Irish; Henry Morris of East Fife memorably marked his solitary game for Scotland with a hat-trick in 1949, while his team-mate, Charlie Fleming bagged a brace on his sole Scotland appearance four years later.
However, we should never forget, the magnificent Jubilee Trophy, the silverware from the Home International Championship has resided in the care of the IFA these past 30-odd years and, in the last ten meetings between the two nations, the score is three wins to Scotland, two to Northern Ireland and five draws. We can no-longer take victory for granted in this fixture.
So, what does Gordon Strachan do tonight? He knows, the Irish will give Scotland a game, does he send-out his big guns, in the knowledge, this one is likely to be played like a good, old-fashioned blood and thunder British cup tie, and thereby risk losing an influential player from the more-important task of putting a few goals on the minnows of Gibraltar next time out.
Or, does he experiment, give some of the fringe guys a start, try some different combinations? Decisions, decisions.
Even when Scotland were good, we had one or two hairy matches against the men in green. The way George Best virtually beat us on his own in 1967 for instance, is a salutory lesson.
The Tartan Army, for instance, might have to suffer some worrying moments tonight, but, in the end, we should still have too-much fire-power for the visitors. I just hope Scott Brown, assuming he plays, steers clear of Kyle Lafferty. We don't need an unnecessary international incident or two!!
I accept the Irish rugby team which worked over our XV at Murrayfield on Saturday was, on-paper and in-fact, the superior outfit. On-paper, we have the better football XI, although the gap is that bit narrower.
We couldn't beat the whole of Ireland at rugby, surely we can still beat the top bit at football.
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