England vs Scotland: Robert Snodgrass claims Three Lions’ own fans want them to lose after dismal Euro 2016 showing

ROBERT SNODGRASS lit the fuse for Friday’s World Cup showdown by declaring: The English want their own country to fail.

The Scotland winger insists England fans could turn on Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions when international football’s oldest rivals clash at Wembley.

Snodgrass said: “I speak to English people and I don’t think they want England to do well because it’s the same old story every time they go to a tournament finals. That’s quite sad when you think about it.

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“It’s a totally different mentality to up here, where everyone is rooting for Scotland and wanting the country to do well.”

The incendiary comments are certain to ramp up tensions between the nations in a match both Southgate and Scots boss Gordon Strachan cannot afford to lose.

Hull ace Snodgrass added: “England are the arch-enemies and the whole of Scotland enjoys it when England lose.

“England know their fans will turn on them if they don’t score first.”

When Iceland humiliated Roy Hodgson’s England over the summer, Europe’s bleakest nation celebrated like there was no tomorrow.

But now it is time for Scotland to stop their gloating and deliver their own devastating blow to the arrogant enemy.

For nobody can carry a grudge like our Caledonian cousins and Friday’s World Cup qualifier presents them with the perfect opportunity to settle some very old scores.

The last time Gordon Strachan’s team were at Wembley three years ago — for a 3-2 “friendly” loss — he made them watch Braveheart to get them in the mood.

This time he will only have to reach back a few months for inspiration and a reminder of how England can lose to absolutely anyone if they really put their minds to it.

For there is no disguising just how much Scotland’s players enjoyed watching Iceland run rings around Hodgson’s duffers during the recent Euros.

Hull winger Snodgrass summed up the mood in Strachan’s squad when he admitted: “I think the whole country enjoys watching England lose. That’s just the way we were brought up.

“The rivalry speaks for itself. They’ve always been the arch enemies and we want every team to beat England. It’s as simple as that.”

Yet Snodgrass, 29, does not stop there. He even goes so far to suggest that even many England supporters will be secretly praying for a Scotland win on Friday.

He added: “We just want to get to tournaments but for England it’s ‘we want to win it’.

“Living and playing in England, I can see how much pressure is on their players to deliver.

“It’s a totally different scale to Scotland because there is such a big expectation on them. That’s why the first goal will be massively important on Friday night."

Yet Snodgrass admits Scotland face one hell of a battle to salvage their faltering World Cup campaign against a team which has not lost a qualifying game since 2009.

And at least he is gracious enough to admit Gareth Southgate’s team kick off Friday’s grudge match as overwhelming favourites — especially after Scotland followed a 1-1 home draw with Lithuania with a 3-0 loss in Slovakia last month.

Snodgrass said: “As much as some people say England are struggling, they still have some great talent in their team and they are all playing at an elite level.

“They’ve probably been a step ahead of us for the last 20 years so, while it might be a good time to be facing England, they will be thinking the same thing about us after our last two results against Lithuania and Slovakia.”

Defeat at Wembley for Strachan’s team will almost certainly mean the end for the under-fire Scotland boss.

It is 18 years since the Scots were at a major tournament and they were the only British and Irish nation watching from the sidelines during this summer’s Euros.

Yet Strachan still appears to have the backing of his under-performing players and Crystal Palace midfielder James McArthur claimed: “We want to win it for the manager on Friday.

“Everyone knows that he’s under pressure and all the players feel that we owe him a performance.

“We let him down with our recent displays and we want him to stay because he has been great for the players.

“Managers are always going to get the brunt of the blame when results are not good but it’s the players who are not doing their jobs, so we’re the ones who need to go out and put things right.”

At least the Scots won’t need any revving up before flying to London tomorrow.

Snodgrass said: “I’ve been brought up in a patriotic family that loves the Scotland v England games and I’m  desperate to be a part of this game.

“I was in the team the last time we played at Wembley three years ago and I think we watched three motivational videos on the bus, including Braveheart.

“You go into these games thinking to yourself ‘we mean business here’. We want the bragging rights for beating England.

“There is no bigger game than this for Scotland and every one of the lads can’t want for Friday night.

“We’ll have around 14,000 fans going down there and it’s great to see everyone is still supporting us after a few bad results.

“We know if we beat England we’re right back in it in terms of World Cup qualification.

“So we’ll puff out our chests and be ready for them, knowing that a full nation is behind us.”

As Mel Gibson might well have said, you may take their lives but you’ll never take their resentment.