England manager Kevin Keegan admitted he and his side "have a lot of work to do" ahead of next summer's Euro 2000 finals following a disappointing performance against Scotland.

Keegan, virtually hoarse after the game, admitted: "We didn't play well. We just couldn't get going at all. There's a lot of excuses we could make - maybe for some of the players it was a little bit too much for them in defending a 2-0 lead. Too much psychologically.

"We knew we had to work, but it was a poor performance. But give Scotland credit because they took a chance and when we got the ball we didn't use it well.

"We know we've got a lot of work to do," Keegan added. "But we've got the chance to show our ability on the biggest stage in the Euro 2000 finals."

The win allows Scotland manager Craig Brown to keep his proud record of never having lost two games in a row during his six-year reign. But he side-stepped questions about his future to heap the praise on his side.

"I am here to do the best job I can and I have never had less than 100 per cent effort from them.

"We have never lost two in a row and we weren't going to lose two in a row to England."

Striker Billy Dodds caused havoc in the English defence over the tie but could barely raise a smile after the game. "Everybody knows how we feel," said the Dundee United striker.

"We lost two bad goals at home and it is so hard to take. We took the game to them but it is so disappointing to lose. It is typical Scottish luck."

England captain Alan Shearer paid tribute to the Scots, saying: "Scotland were wounded after Saturday. They've come here and put in a magnificent performance.

"They made it difficult for us from the start. They gave us one hell of a fight tonight."

Everton defender David Weir echoed Dodds' sentiments on a bitter-sweet night for the Tartan Army. "We are 100 per cent disappointed. We felt we played well on Saturday and didn't get the breaks and it happened again tonight - hopefully our time will come."