Trevor Cherry believes England players should make the most of tonight’s game against Scotland, saying: “It’s an occasion to savour.”

The former Huddersfield Town ace played in three of the previous 111 meetings between the old rivals stretching back to 1872.

And in 1980, he helped England claim one of their 46 victories in the series, making up for defeats at the hands of the Scots in 1976 and 1977.

The 2-0 win was even sweeter because it came in Glasgow (Hampden as opposed to Celtic Park, the venue for the latest clash, which is only the second meeting since the millennium).

“England versus Scotland was a real highlight in my day, and it still should be,” said Huddersfield-born Cherry, 66, who was with Leeds United when he won his 27 caps.

“They were great games, and they were especially good for me because the dressing room at Leeds was full of Scotland players.

“We were mates before and after, but on the day it was every man for himself, and they were great occasions.

“The atmosphere was always fantastic, but particularly up in Glasgow, just because of the fervour of the Scottish fans.

“One thing I remember clearly about the 1980 game was that for some reason, we travelled from the hotel to Hampden in taxis rather than on a coach.

“On the way back, I was with Trevor Brooking and Steve Coppell, who had scored the goals.

“There was a park close to the stadium, and the grass was covered with Scotland supporters who were flat out, unable to stand because of drink.

“The car stopped at a set of traffic lights, and one bloke tapped on the window with a can of lager.

“We thought ‘here goes’, but in the event, he just wanted to congratulate us and offer us a swig!”

Cherry, who won promotion to the top flight with Town in 1970 and played 208 games before his £100,000 transfer to Leeds in 1972, had made two Hampden appearances in 1976.

He scored as the Football League representative side beat the Scottish League 1-0, but then suffered a 2-1 defeat in the old Home Internationals.

The year after, Scotland were again 2-1 winners, with their fans infamously invading the Wembley pitch and ripping down the goalposts.

“It was chaotic,” recalled Cherry, who also played for, and managed, Bradford City and had a spell back at Town as an associate director.

“But as they came onto the pitch, there was more of a celebratory than threatening feel about them.

“Hopefully there will be nothing like that this time, and it would be great to see the fixture restored as an annual event.

“Scotland have suffered a bit in recent times, and the standard of their domestic league seems to have dipped.

“But Gordon Strachan is doing a great job with the national team, and that was a great win over the Republic of Ireland on Friday.

“That will have set them up nicely for the England game, so bring it on.”